Drengskapr
by Lumen del Mari
Summary: She grew up living in the shadow of her clan's greatest shame. When a rare dragon is shot down in a raid and offered up to the winner of dragon training, Astrid Hofferson sees it as a chance to finally prove herself. But a chance encounter with a Deadly Nadder leads to a change of heart, throwing her life and the future of Berk into chaos. AU. Hiccstrid.
1. Chapter 1

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _She grew up living in the shadow of her clan's greatest shame. When a rare dragon is shot down in a raid and offered up to the winner of dragon training, Astrid Hofferson sees it as a chance to finally prove herself to both the village and her peers. But a chance encounter with a Deadly Nadder leads to a change of heart, throwing her life and the future of Berk into chaos. AU. Hiccstrid._

 **Rating:** _T for language, suggestive adult themes, violence, animal cruelty, etc. We are dealing with Vikings here guys—teenage Vikings at that. Fair warning, there will be hormones galore in later chapters! No lemons, but definite suggestive themes_.

—

 **Disclaimer:** _I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore—nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and will explain how_ _I personally_ _understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly PM me about it and I will be happy to make revisions where needed._

—

 **Chapter One**

It was the warning bells that woke her.

Astrid Hofferson sat straight up in bed just as the first rumbles could be heard and cringed.

Her tribe, her home, was settled in the middle of the Meridian of Misery on an island called Berk. The Hairy Hooligans had called Berk their home for seven generations, yet you would never know it. Nearly every single building was new. It was not that the Vikings actually enjoyed rebuilding their structures so often. No, it was the fault of the _drekar_ **[1]**. The monstrous beasts were everywhere. For as long as Astrid could remember—Hel, as long as anyone on the island could remember—Berk had been plagued by dragon raids. The wicked creatures would come in the middle of the night, attack with raging fire, and leave with the tribe's food and livestock.

It appeared that tonight was one of those nights.

When the alarms sounded every able Viking was tasked with defending the village. The older, veteran Vikings fought the dragons head on. The younger, adolescent Vikings who had not yet been formally placed in dragon training were part of the Fire Brigade. Someone had to keep the village from completely burning to the ground after all. The medics tended to the sick and the blacksmith sharpened weapons in the forge.

Everyone had a role, a place.

Everyone except Astrid.

That being said, Astrid was not your typical Viking. She was small and that made her weak in the eyes of her tribe. To make matters worse, she could hardly handle a weapon, let alone properly wield one. The villagers described her as…delicate. The word 'delicate' was not a term one would typically associate with a Viking. No, to call her delicate was an insult. Her fellow tribesmen swore that wherever she walked, disaster followed. It was not as if she was clumsy on purpose, but accidents always seemed to happen when she was around. They had a nickname for her. A horribly mortifying nickname that Astrid cursed Snotlout Jorgenson to the fiery depths of Helheim for making up.

 _Hopeless Hofferson_.

But she still tried, she really did.

Unfortunately, most times that desperation to succeed did not work out in her favor. For example, the first time that the village put her on Fire Brigade duty with the other teens her age, she somehow managed to set more buildings on fire than the dragons did. Needless to say, that was the end of her stint with the Fire Brigade and ever since she has been forced to stay indoors, away from all the action.

It was just as well, no one wanted a Hofferson fighting anyhow.

An involuntary scowl formed on the blonde's lips as she thought about how her family name had been ruined all because of one dragon, the Flightmare—or as Astrid and her mother called it, Hofferson's Bane. Every ten years the Flightmare would appear in the midst of Arvendale's Fire, shining brighter than any of the colors in the sky, and wreak havoc on the village. When Astrid was five she had watched her uncle, Fearless Finn Hofferson confront the dragon. She had always considered her uncle to be fearless, just as his name suggested. However, that night, he froze. Astrid had watched in horror as the Flightmare killed her uncle right before her very eyes **[2]**. Death was not uncommon amongst Vikings. Even at the tender age of five, it was not the first time Astrid had seen a dead body. No, it was the way that her uncle died that was so tragic. Fearless Finn had not even put up a fight against the Flightmare. The village later mocked him, changing his name from Fearless to Frozen. Her family was never the same after that.

Ten years later, when Astrid was fifteen, her father also confronted the Flightmare in an attempt to regain the honor of the Hofferson clan. It was not long after the Fire Brigade incident and consequently, it was decided between her parents that she would remain inside where it was safe. It was a horrible feeling, being trapped inside the house, unaware of what was happening outside amongst all the fighting. Yet Astrid was not worried. She had complete faith in her father. He never lost a fight, ever. He was one of the strongest warriors on the isle of Berk. The first clue that something was wrong came in the form of a horrific feminine scream. Then everything was silent. Concerned, Astrid had defied the wishes of her parents and left the house, following the sounds of raised voices and the horrendous screams. The sight that Astrid came upon in the plaza was one even more devastating than the one ten years before.

That night, the Hofferson's lost a husband, a father, and the respect of the village.

Even three years later, that night still haunted her dreams. Yet those gruesome memories only made her that much more determined to avenge her uncle and father's deaths, but with her inability to fight it was almost hopeless. Yet, Astrid Hofferson was not the kind of Viking who gave up easily. She both hated and looked forward to the dragon raids. Obviously, it was bad for the village because many of their structures were destroyed and they typically lost a lot of their provisions, but the raids were her only chance to prove herself to the village. All she had to do was kill one dragon. One. If she managed to do that then the village could no longer refer to her as the village embarrassment.

Suddenly the entire house began to shake, breaking her from her internal monologue. Alarmed, the young Viking sprang into action just as a dragon growl sounded from the roof above her. She ran from her room, calling out her mother's name, but no one answered. Astrid frowned. Typically, her mother stayed inside during raids, only going out to fight if it was desperately needed. It did not matter if she was one of the best axe wielders that Berk had to offer. No one needed the help of a Hofferson after all. For her mother to be out there meant that the Vikings were losing the fight. That not a good sign as the raid had only just started.

Then it hit her. With her mother already out in the fight, it was up to Astrid to defend their home. Astrid felt the adrenaline course through her veins at the thought of finally, finally proving she was capable of doing something right. She struggled to lift her father's old axe but could barely manage to lift it a foot off the ground. How he managed to lift something so laborious day in and day out without breaking a sweat was beyond her. With a sigh, Astrid instead grabbed a small seax and an ornate shield, both given to her by her father the Snoggletog before he was killed. Both weapons were handsomely crafted and to that very day, Astrid still wondered how her father had been able to afford them. They were made of the very finest metals Berk had to offer and were elegantly patterned with knots and symbols such as _Mjölnir_ , Thor's hammer. Astrid was so impressed by them that she had personally complimented the master blacksmith, Gobber the Belch, on his fine work but the craftsman reacted rather strangely when she thanked him. It was almost as though he knew something that she did not.

Astrid's fine weapons rarely left the storage trunk in her bedroom.

She never had the opportunity to use them.

Until tonight.

With the seax clutched tightly in her right hand and the shield situated on her left arm, Astrid flung open the door only to find a Monstrous Nightmare standing directly on her doorstep. For a moment, the dragon simply stared at her with a pair of unblinking black eyes. It tilted its crimson scaled crown, studying the tiny human before it with interest. For a moment, Astrid foolishly thought that based on its hesitance that it might not attack. But then smoke began to pour from its mouth, a sign that fire was building within its massive abdomen.

It took her half a second to react.

She screamed, slamming the door shut and held up her shield protectively in front of her just as the Nightmare released a rivulet of flames on the very spot that she had been standing just seconds prior. The heat of the blast was nearly unbearable but she stood firm, her shield covering most of her body from the flames licking at the closed door. When the heat dissipated, Astrid carefully peeked out from behind her shield to assess the damage.

Fortunately, although the door was completely charred, it still stood in place. Unfortunately, the fire was spreading in earnest to the roof of her home.

Smoke began to pool down from the fiery ceiling. It quickly began to blind her and fill her lungs. Knowing that staying inside her burning home was suicide, Astrid used her shield to knock down the charred door and stumbled out into the thick of the battle. It was every bit as bad as she imagined it would be. Despite the number of warriors and a number of battle cries, the Berkians appeared to be losing. Dragons were everywhere. They were crawling through the village, crashing into houses, and flying through the skies with Berk's livestock clutched in their claws.

The warriors rallied against them so quickly, so efficiently. It was clear that this was a village that had spent their entire lives fighting in such a manner. But the main battle in the village square did not hold Astrid's interest for long. Her gaze quickly passed over Berk's paramount warriors and instead locked on a particularly harried scene panning out further up the peak.

A Monstrous Nightmare—perhaps the same one that had attempted to incinerate her home—was engaged in battle with a rather unconventional looking Viking who was armed with a long sword. He was tall, gangly, and wore tight-fitting red and brown leather armor. Even from a distance, Astrid could see the fierce determination, sweat, and soot that marred the young man's handsome features as he arced his sword high in the air, preparing to land a blow on the dragon's neck. She had to look away, unable to stand the sight of blood splattering across her fellow Viking's armor and face.

 _Weak_. _Hopeless_. _Cannot even stand the sight of blood_. Her internal voice berated her cowardliness. _How will you_ ever _kill a dragon acting like that?_

"ASTRID!"

She recognized the source of the exasperated voice, sparing a tiny bit of hope that perhaps she heard a tinge of worry in it as well. Astrid glanced up as the Viking warrior ran towards her, his sharp jaw clenched with irritation. Okay, so maybe he was not the most attractive Viking she had ever seen but he was good looking in an unconventional way. He was all arms and legs, thin and lanky, like a string bean. He had a smattering of freckles across his sharp nose, too large of eyes for his angular face, and thin pale lips. His hair was an unruly mess of dark auburn that stuck out on the sides as if it had a mind of its own and he had grown tired of trying to tame it—

Oh, who was she kidding? He is totally attractive.

Her eyes caught sight of the blood on his sword and she swallowed back the urge to gag at the gruesome sight. She looked away from the sword and met his narrowed green eyes— _eyes that she often found herself drowning in whenever they graced her presence_.

"Hiccup?" she choked out, surprised he was even speaking to her.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hope and Heir of the Hairy Hooligans, rarely acknowledged her existence. When he did, it was usually accompanied with a disappointed scowl, as if the barmaid skimped the meat on his sandwich. But once upon a time, a time Hiccup had probably all but forgotten, she and Hiccup had been friends. Herleva Hofferson and Valka Haddock had been the best of friends and as such, the two Viking children were usually roped into playdates together as toddlers **[3]**. Astrid could remember the days when they spent nearly every waking moment together. Occasionally they would play with the other kids their age but more often than not, it was just the two of them. They had clung to one another, as neither child quite fit the mold of a standard Viking.

Then, their childhoods were irrevocably scarred by the disappearance of Hiccup's mother and the death of Astrid's uncle. They were forced to rely on each other and their families. Herleva Hofferson became a sort of surrogate mother to Hiccup, caring for him as if he were her second child while Stoick Haddock, Hiccup's father and Chief of the Hairy Hooligans, never treated the Hofferson family with the same scorn as the rest of the village in the aftermath of Finn Hofferson's death. The two families eventually came together as a united front and that somewhat stifled the gossip that spread through the village life dragon fire. Hiccup and Astrid had muddled through the pain of losing their loved ones together and that forged a bond between them that Astrid had believed was indestructible.

She was wrong.

Astrid's supposedly unbreakable friendship with Hiccup was shattered by young adulthood. The Chief's son hit a growth spurt in their early teens and Stoick had taken it upon himself to make sure that his heir was properly trained in not only political affairs but weapons training as well. In addition to his apprenticeship in the forge, Hiccup began to spend more and more time with his father and the elders. At the end of the day, there was no time left to spare for his childhood friend. So, since his schedule was so busy, Astrid purposely found room in her own day to spend time with him. That often meant visiting him in the forge or seeking him out in the market or the Great Hall. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, things began to get weird. First, he began to act as if her presence in the forge was a bother. Then, he began turning down her attempts of conversation at the market and the Great Hall. Eventually, he began ignoring her altogether.

Astrid's fifteenth year had been both lonely and devastating. As she no longer had Hiccup to lean on, the death of her father nearly sent her spiraling into a depression that was nearly impossible to come out of. If it had not been for the unlikely friendship she found in the only other girl her age, she might have never found her way out of her downward spiral. Hiccup barely noticed Astrid's turmoil, seemingly too caught up in his own crushing responsibilities as heir of the tribe. Because of that, Astrid tried not to harbor ill feelings towards him. Despite his coldness towards her, she could not forget his kindness as a boy. He had been the only one who did not treat her as a nuisance or view her as an embarrassment when they were younger after all. Astrid would never forget the boy who had woven wildflowers into her hair, who held her gently as she cried when the other kid's teasing went too far, the boy who had been her only friend, her first crush…

"What are you doing out here?! You should be inside!"

Astrid was brought back to the present by Hiccup's familiar nasally voice, but it was not the soft lilt she remembered. His tone was now much harsher. It was just another painful reminder of how much things had changed in the years since they drifted apart.

"I—"

He cut her off before she really had the chance to start her explanation, his eyes trained on something behind her. "Oh Thor, Astrid! Your house is on fire!" His hands gestured agitatedly towards the burning house behind her. Astrid turned with a grimace, remembering that indeed her house _was_ on fire. The flames were spreading even further and now half the house was engulfed.

"It was a Monstrous Nightmare! I—"

Hiccup was not listening to her, however. He was looking around frantically for someone to help. The attacking dragons appeared to be moving on towards the other side of the village and most of the villagers were following. Suddenly, Hiccup brought two fingers to his lips and whistled sharply to a group of Vikings about a hundred yards away. They instantly turned and headed in Astrid and Hiccup's direction. Astrid recognized them as the Fire Brigade, all who were teens their age.

As soon as they reached them, Hiccup began barking out orders.

"Fish, gather as much water as you can and bring it here." This was directed at a husky looking blond boy, also known as Fishlegs Ingerman. With a silent nod, Fishlegs ran off towards a nearby well with four wooden buckets clutched in his grip. "Ruff, Tuff, you two take the North side," Hiccup continued. Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston were twins, nearly identical in their looks minus the gender difference. Hiccup then turned to the last figure, a short and stocky Viking named Snotlout Jorgenson. Snotlout was Hiccup's cousin and second in command despite their extreme differences in both looks and opinions. "Snot, you're with me. We'll take the South side."

Snotlout grinned, "You got it, cuz."

"Aye, Chief," Tuffnut responded with a salute.

Ruffnut punched her brother in the arm. "He's not our chief yet, idiot."

The punch did not even faze the male twin. "I'm just letting the term settle," he said with a nonchalant shrug.

"What about me?" Astrid asked, unable to stop herself. Immediately, she knew it was the wrong question to ask. The teens froze and exchanged uncomfortable glances before turning to Hiccup to let him give the order as their unofficial leader. From the looks on their faces, Astrid knew exactly what they were thinking.

 _You will only get in the way._

 _We do not need Hopeless Hofferson screwing things up again._

 _You will only succeed in burning your entire house down and then what will you do?_

She turned her eyes expectantly to Hiccup. She was confident that despite the indifference he often showed her, he would not brush her aside like everyone else. But, Hiccup did not respond right away like she thought he would. He remained silent. The small hopeful smile that graced her lips slowly fell. The longer he stayed silent, the more defeated Astrid felt.

Finally, Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose, refusing to look at her as he muttered, "A-Astrid, just-uh, stand back and stay…put…there."

Fishlegs returned with the buckets before Astrid could come up with a response. The larger boy handed the buckets off to the other teens before hurrying off again to fill more. With full buckets of water in hand, the Fire Brigade sprang into action. Astrid followed Hiccup's order and stood back with her arms folded across her midsection in an attempt to fend off his painful words. It hurt to hear him disregard her presence and help. While he tended to give her exasperated glances and disappointed scowls, unlike the other Vikings he never said anything hurtful out loud. For the past three years she had told herself that he was simply too busy to care, simply did not have time notice her, and that the disappointed looks he gave her were because he knew that she could do better.

Now, she was not so sure.

 _He agrees with them._

That hurt more than she could put into words.

Astrid watched silently as the other teens successfully put out the fire, managing to save her house from complete destruction. A good portion of the roof and the outer walls were charred, but everything on the inside of the house was salvageable. Astrid and her mother would get by. They would just have to double up on furs at night until they were able to make the repairs. Everything would be okay.

"Astrid?"

Hiccup made to approach her after everything was said and done but stopped upon seeing the scathing glare she sent in his direction. There was a bit of remorse in his green eyes, but that did not change the fact that she had come to the startling realization that he had had zero faith in her. She could not help but feel angry. Astrid had expected rejection from the others, but never Hiccup. So this time, she ignored him. She hoped her silence would ignite something in him. Perhaps he would apologize, explain his actions, something. All she truly wanted was a sign that he still cared. But she would not get one. With an agitated huff, Hiccup unsheathed his sword and ran down into the village where the sounds of a lingering battle could still be heard. The others quickly followed after him.

They were leaving her behind.

Again.

"He didn't mean it."

She was so preoccupied with watching Hiccup's diminishing form that Ruffnut Thorsten's statement completely caught her off guard. Even more shocking, the other girl was regarding her with a rare display of concern. Astrid glowered at the grass beneath her boots. She did not need Ruffnut's pity. She did not need anyone's pity. Why was Ruffnut still standing with her anyways? Did she not have more important things to do than to watch her stew over Hiccup's words?

"He did," Astrid replied cynically when Ruffnut showed no signs of leaving. "Hiccup thinks I'm just as much of a screw up as the rest of you do."

"You're not a screw-up. Besides, Tuff and I think all the destruction you cause is kind of badass. Berk would be so boring without it."

"What are you still doing here anyways? Don't you have an actual job to do? The raid is not over yet."

Ruffnut shrugged, "You seemed upset."

"Why do you care?" Astrid snapped before she could stop herself.

"Because you listened to me when I needed someone to vent to about my problems. I thought it was only fair to return the favor."

Ah. There is was. Astrid knew that one day that her empathy would one day come back to haunt her.

It had been several years ago. While Astrid had been mourning her father's death and Hiccup's estrangement during her fifteenth year, she had also taken on more responsibilities around the house. Her mother was not able to remarry because the shame attached to her was far too great. Therefore, Herleva had to take over all of the things that were the head of the household's responsibility. That left Astrid to take care of most of the housework such as cooking, cleaning, mending, and gardening. She also had to start attending lessons with the matron women of the village in order to learn how to provide for her future husband—no matter how unlikely that scenario was. It was not like she actually had any suitors lined up or anything. Nevertheless, the fact remained that as a young adolescent female, she had to learn. Luckily, she did not have to go to the lessons alone. Ruffnut was of the same age and thus forced to attend also. However, unlike Astrid, Ruffnut did have suitors and that was the cause of most of the female twin's frustrations.

After hitting puberty, Ruffnut went from simply being 'Tuffnut's twin' to 'female' in the eyes of the male adolescents of Berk. Hiccup was the only one who appeared unaffected by Ruffnut's femininity—to both Ruffnut and Astrid's relief. Of course that left Ruffnut torn between Snotlout and Fishlegs, who both were quite obvious in their attempts to court her. While Ruffnut could sense that Fishlegs seemed to have genuine affections for her, she thought that Snotlout's affections stemmed from the fact that she was the only eligible girl their age besides Astrid. Sure, there were plenty of younger girls but Snotlout always insisted that Ruffnut was the best choice. That was supposedly why Ruffnut hated his affections because she believed he was settling for the best and there was no sincerity behind his so _-_ called feelings for her. However, Astrid had her own theory as to why the female twin rebuked Snotlout's courting attempts so fiercely. Ruffnut did not speak of her more personal feelings on the topic often, but Astrid got the other girl cared more for Fishlegs than what she let on.

Of course, things could not be that simple.

When she turned sixteen, Ruffnut's parents began pressuring her into accepting a marriage contract from the Jorgenson's. It did not matter how revolting Ruffnut thought that Snotlout was, the fact of the matter was that the Jorgensons were better off than the Ingermans. The way Ruffnut's parents saw it, Snotlout could provide more for her than Fishlegs could. Yet, Ruffnut remained firm on her answer and that led to many, many disagreements in the Thorsten residence. There were so many times when Ruffnut would be so wound up from an argument with her parents that she would spill everything to Astrid.

" _As much as I love Tuff, he has the emotional capacity of a walnut_ ," Ruffnut had reasoned when Astrid asked why she felt the need to open up to her of all people.

Yet, despite the fact that Ruffnut obviously trusted Astrid with her problems, Astrid did not have that same trust in Ruffnut. Or rather, it was not that she did not trust Ruffnut, Astrid just had never really felt comfortable bearing her soul to anyone, especially with things as personal as her insecurities and feelings. But then again, the weight of rejection that Astrid felt in her chest was nearly suffocating. She suddenly felt the need to confide in someone and since Ruffnut just so happened to be offering—

"We used to be best friends," Astrid finally mumbled. "It hurts that he has so little faith in me now."

"I think you're wrong about that," Ruffnut countered, surprising Astrid with her bold reply. "It's not that Hiccup doesn't have faith in you, he just worries about you."

Astrid snorted, "Yeah right. Hiccup barely notices that I exist anymore."

"Oh yeah? So how do you explain tonight then?" When Astrid could not come up with a decent response, Ruffnut smirked. "That's what I thought. Hiccup notices more than you think," she added cryptically.

Just as Astrid was about to respond with a remark of denial, a piercing scream resonated through the sky. All concept of Hiccup and whether or not he noticed things vanished as the two blondes looked at one another in fear. It was not human scream, but rather the call of a dragon. It was a sound that they, unfortunately, were very familiar with—a Night Fury, the unholy offspring and lightning and death itself. The Night Fury was an enigma to the Hairy Hooligans and the one dragon that they feared above all others. It never stole actually food and never appeared in the village. It was undoubtedly intelligent, keeping to the skies during every raid and blowing up all of Berk's defenses with its blinding blasts of fire. The battle was already going poorly. The arrival of such an elusive and deadly dragon would only make things worse.

" _Night Fury_!" An unidentified voice warned.

" _Get down_!" Another added.

Blue flames lit up the entire early morning sky, striking one of Berk's catapults not far from where they were standing. Astrid and Ruffnut both screamed, instinctively raising their shields to protect themselves from shards of metal and splintered wood. The power of the blast instantly desecrated the structure of the catapult, making the ground tremor beneath their feet as it crumbled to the ground. Ruffnut suddenly reached out, grabbed Astrid's hand and began pulling her in the opposite direction of the village.

"Where are you taking me?" Astrid shrieked, barely able to keep the anxiety out of her voice from such a close call.

"Away from the village!" Ruffnut snapped. "That was too close."

Astrid attempted to loosen Ruffnut's grip, "Fine—just let go of me! I don't need your help!"

With a role of her eyes, Ruffnut complied. The two Vikings continued running until they reached the edge of the village where they would be safe from the Night Fury's blasts. From their vantage point under the safety of tree-cover, they watched as the mysterious dragon singlehandedly took down three more catapults in different locations around the village. One of the blasts connected with a catapult in the direction that Hiccup, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut had run off in. Astrid silently prayed to every God and Goddess she knew to protect them. Sparing a glance over at her improbable companion, she noted that Ruffnut also appeared nervous.

Then, something strange happened.

A wounded cry came from the sky and a shadowed mass fell towards the earth. Shouts sounded from the village as various warriors shot nets high into the sky in an attempt to capture the wounded creature. One of the nets hit home, tangling in the dragon's expansive wings. Both cheers of celebration and screams of panic sounded as the creature crashed into the ground in the middle of the village. With a shared confused glance, Astrid and Ruffnut raced back into the village to where the creature had landed. By the time that they reached the crash site, most of the villagers had surrounded the creature and the girls had to fight their way through the gathering crowd to see. Ruffnut spotted Tuffnut and Fishlegs in front of them in the crowd and silently motioned for Astrid to follow her. Peaking around the two other teens, Astrid and Ruffnut were met with an unbelievable sight.

"Whoa!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"What is it?" Astrid breathed.

Beside her, Fishlegs was almost vibrating with excitement. "It's a Night Fury!" he squeaked.

Deep impressions of broken earth forged a path through the town square leading up to a large creature with shiny black scales. It lay unmoving, tangled up in multiple nets. For a moment, Astrid thought that the creature was already dead. Looking around, she picked out the Chief's hulking form standing near the creature's head. With him was Spitelout Jorgenson, the Chief's brother-in-law and second in command, and two others; Hiccup and Snotlout. The four appeared to be in deep discussion about something but as the Chief and Spitelout had their backs to her, Astrid could really only see Hiccup and Snotlout's expressions. Snotlout appeared excited while Hiccup seemed to be—arguing perhaps? Whatever he was doing, he was gesturing wildly with his hands and he did not appear to share his cousin's excitement.

After several anxious minutes, Stoick the Vast turned to address the villagers. "Ne'er did I expect this day to come, but I for one couldn't be any prouder! Today, my son has honored the entire tribe by shooting down a Night Fury!" The crowd instantly fell silent, all staring at the chief's lithe son in shock.

 _What?_

Astrid's gaze instantly shot to Hiccup whose face was quickly turning bright red with embarrassment.

"N-no, no Dad." Hiccup stuttered. "I-I just shot the net. You hit him with your bola!"

"Using the bola launcher ye created!" Stoick exclaimed, pointing to an odd looking wheel barrel contraption at the top of a hill above the village. The village oohed and awed for several moments before the Chief raised his meaty fist, signaling for quiet. "It has been decided that in the morning, the next generation of Vikings will begin dragon training. The winner will slay this devil in the Ring."

Everyone with the exception of Astrid and the teens burst into cheers. While the other teens were simply stunned by the news, Astrid felt a feeling that could only be described as dread creep into the pit of her stomach. Surely Stoick had not meant to include her in dragon training as well. It would be ridiculous to hope for such good fortune.

"Can you believe it?" Ruffnut exclaimed, delivering a well-aimed punch to the other blonde's upper arm in her eagerness. "Dragon training! We're going to learn to slay dragons!"

Astrid shook her head, her eyes falling to the ground. "Yeah, I'm sure you guys will have fun," she whispered.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes and was about to retort when the beast trapped within the nets suddenly began to move and released a pitiful moan of pain. Instantly, several Vikings sprang into action, tightening the nets and enclosing a muzzle around the dragon's maw. Astrid cringed at the wretched sound but as she spared a quick glance at her fellow peers, she seemed to be the only one affected by the dragon's cries. It was obviously hurt and despite the fact is was practically in her very nature to hate dragons, Astrid could not help but feel sorry for the distressed creature. She scanned the expanse of its body for signs of injury and was alarmed when its eyes opened, revealing a pair of bright green irises that were a shockingly similar shade to a certain russet-haired Viking. Her heart clenched painfully inside her chest. Oblivious of her own actions, Astrid shuffled forward, leaving behind the other teens and hesitantly approached the downed dragon. She was a few feet away from the bound creature when a firm hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Astrid, stop."

Hiccup's voice was faintly choked. She met his burning gaze and noted that he looked deeply troubled by something. Internally, Astrid wondered if perhaps he was just as bothered by the sight at she was. But before she could question him, he masked his expression from her and averted his eyes.

"Your mother is waiting, see you tomorrow."

As the last word died on his lips, Hiccup spun on his heel and stiffly rejoined his father and the others as they began preparations to transport the dragon to the Kill Ring. Astrid was left behind staring at his retreating form, completely dumbfounded. _See you tomorrow?_ Was that an implication that she was included in dragon training after all? Confused, Astrid turned away from the dragon and the village elders, walking sluggishly to where indeed her mother was waiting expectantly for her at the edge of the crowd.

It was a silent journey back home as both Hofferson women were lost in their own thoughts. If Herleva Hofferson was surprised by the burnt state of the house, she did not show it. They did not go back to sleep that night. Instead, Astrid and her mother spent the next few hours quietly cleaning up the damage from the fire. It was not until the first rays of light began to peek on the edge of the horizon that Astrid finally broke the silence.

"Mother?"

Herleva hummed.

"Am I supposed to go to dragon training this morning too?" Astrid asked timidly.

To Astrid's utter shock, her mother nodded. "Aye, I spoke with the chief about it a few days ago. It is time ye learn to protect yourself."

It was not as though she knew nothing of weapons—her mother was one of the best with an axe after all. From a young age, Astrid had watched her parents and studied the movements of her peers. She knew it all in theory. However, theory and execution were two very different things. Astrid could theorize strategies for days but she did not have the training, the strength, or the experience to execute them properly. Her father had intended to begin seriously training her to fight after her fifteenth birthday. Sadly, that never came to pass. After her father's death, her mother had had too many other things on her mind to worry about training Astrid. Working to put food on the table and making sure they did not end up on the streets or in the debt of another Berkian family was her number one priority. Thus, Astrid's training had been placed on the back burner and eventually, forgotten entirely.

Until now.

"Why now? What changed?"

"The raids are getting worse." Herleva paused, taking a moment to wipe some soot from her brow. "Today, the Chief and his best warriors are setting out on one last search for the dragon nest before the ice sets in. While they are gone, Gobber will be training ye and the others. Last night's events simply confirmed the Chief's fear that the raids are only going to increase in the future. We need every able body to fight or we will starve to death once winter hits."

Herleva turned from her daughter and began shuffling through a wooden chest at the foot of her bed that remained unscathed from the fire. First came blood red leather skirt covered in spikes, which Herleva placed neatly on the bed. Then a pair of skull emblazoned shoulder guards and fur arm braces joined the skirt. Lastly, Herleva hesitated for just a moment before she finally pulled out a weapon that Astrid had never seen before. It was a double sided axe, smaller than a typical Viking's, but it was just the perfect size for Astrid. A small smile graced Astrid's lips when she noticed the familiar pattern of knots on the wooden handle and axe head. The axe matched her shield and seax.

"It's beautiful," Astrid breathed.

"It's yers, part of the set. I believe it's time for ye to have it," Herleva replied, holding out the weapon to her daughter. "Perhaps it will bring ye luck in the Ring." With shaking hands, Astrid closed her fingers around the handle of the axe and took it from her mother's grasp. It was undoubtedly lighter than any axe Astrid had held before. She would not really be able to swing it—at least not gracefully—but she could certainly hold it without the least bit of struggle.

"And the armor?"

"It was mine when I was yer age. I want ye to wear it, to protect ye during training."

Astrid grinned, "Thank you."

With her mother's armor, she would not look so out of place and delicate. She had been secretly dreading going to training in just her plain cotton tunic, skirt, and leggings when she knew the other Viking teens would be wearing armor, not to mention it would have been dangerous. Astrid immediately changed into her mother's old clothing and was not surprised to find that it all fit almost perfectly. She might have to make some minor adjustments but it would all work for now. Luckily, Astrid and her mother had very similar builds. The only difference was that Herleva had more strength in her pinky finger than Astrid did in her entire body. During training, however, Astrid would strive to change that. Now was the chance for her to prove herself. If she had to spend extra time training by herself in the woods with her new axe, then so be it.

When the sun fully rose over the horizon, Herleva pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead and pushed her out of the door into the cool morning. "Make our family proud, my little Valkyrie."

The whispered words were met with silence.

Astrid was already gone.

 **[1]** _ **Dreki**_ **translates to dragon in Old Norse. The plural form is** _ **drekar**_ **.**

 **[2] It is not directly stated in** _ **Fright of Passage**_ **(DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk) whether Fearless Finn Hofferson was killed by the Flightmare or simply banished from Berk for freezing and thus shaming the Hofferson name. However, according to How to Train Your Dragon wiki, he was killed by the dragon and for the purpose of this story, I am going to go with that option. Obviously, in the series, Astrid's family is not shamed nearly to the extent that I am detailing in this story, but it gives me a legitimate weakness and problem for Astrid to deal with besides just a lack of strength. Just as Hiccup struggled with getting the approval of Berk in** _ **How to Train Your Dragon**_ **, in this AU Astrid will also struggle to find approval of the village, as well as regaining her family honor.**

 **[3] If anyone is curious about the meaning of Astrid's mother's name, the name** _ **Herleva**_ **is an ancient Germanic name derived from the words** _ **hari**_ **"army",** _ **era**_ **"honor", and** _ **erla**_ **"noble." As honor means so much to Astrid's family, the name was not only appropriate but also ironic as the Hofferson family has lost theirs to the Flightmare.**

 **It is not stated in canon whether or not Astrid and Hiccup were ever friends prior to the events of** _ **How to Train Your Dragon**_ **, but I like to think that before puberty and responsibilities hit them in their early adulthood, all of the teens would have been friends. It partially explains Astrid's sudden change of heart after the Romantic Flight sequence and also why the other Viking teens were so quick to jump aboard on Hiccup's solution to saving the tribe from the Red Death.**

 **Finally, for those who are curious of the title** _ **Drengskapr**_ **, it loosely translates into** _ **honor.**_ **As I am sure you all can already tell, honor is something that is going to play a huge role in this story. The concept of** _ **Drengskapr**_ **in Icelandic culture is highly complex and hard to translate into the English language. However, from what I found through research, it is a combination of the two Norse terms** _ **drengr**_ **(an honorable man) and -** _ **skapar**_ **(high-mindedness and courage).**

 **AUTHORS NOTE**

 **Please, leave me your thoughts. But** _ **constructive**_ **criticism only, please!**

 **I get that some of the characters (Hiccup and Astrid) may seem** **out of character** **, but that is the very backbone of this story and will change as the plot progresses. In case you have not already caught on, you** **could** **say that this story is a role reversal between Hiccup and Astrid but in other ways, it is** **not** _ **.**_

 **One of the main plots of this AU is to explore the damaging effect that Finn Hofferson's encounter with the Flightmare (as told in** _ **Fright of Passage**_ **from Defenders of Berk) could have had on Astrid's reputation. How would her life have been different if she did not have the status or respect of the village as she does in HTTYD1? Major plots of the first movie will be touched upon and I will be sticking to** _ **mostly**_ **to canon (i.e., everyone will keep their original dragon) but this AU takes place when the teens are older, around eighteen and nineteen, so again - our beloved character's personalities may be altered from their younger selves.**

 **\- Mari**


	2. Chapter 2

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _She grew up living in the shadow of her clan's greatest shame. When a rare dragon is shot down in a raid and offered up to the winner of dragon training, Astrid Hofferson sees it as a chance to finally prove herself. But then a chance encounter with a Deadly Nadder leads to a change of heart, throwing her life and the future of Berk into chaos. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Chapter Two**

The walk to the Kill Ring, where dragon training took place, was sobering. Evidence of the raid the night before was all around her. It was one of the worst ones thus far. The Hofferson house had not been the only house to receive the fiery wrath of the enemy. In fact, she and her mother were very lucky. There were several houses that were in far worse shape than her own. A few families had lost everything, their homes and belongings reduced to nothing more than a pile of smoldering ash upon the ground. The sight caused her to tighten her grip on her axe. The next raid, she would not stay inside and do nothing while _lives_ were being destroyed. If she had to practice every day with her new axe until her fingers bled, she would do it.

"No turning back," she muttered as she neared her destination.

She was one of the last to arrive. The rest of Viking teens, minus Hiccup, all stood next to the main gate of the Kill Ring. Hiccup's absence was unsurprising. He was likely down at the docks seeing the war party off. Meanwhile, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were animatedly discussing something violent in nature, if their exaggerated gestures meant anything. Fishlegs stood quietly next to them, looking a little uneasy. As Astrid got within earshot of the group, she understood why.

"Ooh! I hope I get some serious burns!" Tuffnut cheered, thrusting his spear in the air.

"I'm hoping for some good mauling," Ruffnut added with a drawl. "Like on my shoulder or lower back."

Astrid grimaced. Although she was friends with Ruffnut, some of the things that the twins said were still downright disturbing. They had a disconcerting enjoyment of pain that got them in trouble more often than not.

"It's only fun if you get a scar out of it," Snotlout cut in, agreeing with the twins.

"Oh, hey Astrid," Fishlegs suddenly called out, being the only one to notice her arrival.

His greeting caused all the others to look in her direction and each reacted to her presence differently. Snotlout's reaction that caught her attention immediately. He looked downright furious, his stare locked on her shiny new axe. Brushing his reaction off as jealousy, her attention passed on to the others. Fishlegs continued to give her a hesitant smile, Ruffnut seemed marginally impressed, and Tuffnut was confused. All of their gazes flickered between her face and her new attire. Her shield they had seen before but never before had they seen her in full armor and they had certainly never witnessed her carry an actual _weapon_ for more than a few seconds before dropping it. As they continued to stare, Astrid smoothed her lips into a thin line, refusing to show them how nervous she really was.

"Uh, guys!" Tuffnut whispered in alarm, "Does anyone else see the strange Viking standing in front of us? Or am I seeing a ghost?!"

Ruffnut smashed her fist into her brother's helmet, "That's Astrid, stupid!"

"Oh great, who let _her_ in?" Snotlout jeered.

His words kindled a sudden fire within her chest.

"I have just as much of a right to be here as you do, Jorgenson!" she snarled in return.

He continued to sneer at her. "Really, Astrid? You can't fight. Do you think you can wave your puny axe at a dragon and it'll just fly away? You're fooling no one. That axe is toddler sized!"

Astrid's fingers clenched firmly around her axe handle. "I'll show _you_ toddler—" But whatever she was about to say next died on her lips as a small knife suddenly whizzed by Snotlout's ear, missing him by mere inches.

"That is enough, all of ye!" Their instructor's furious voice bellowed out.

All five teens flinched, turning to see Gobber the Belch ambling towards them with a scowl marring his customarily jolly face. Hiccup trailed not far behind the master blacksmith, his gaze passing over each of the teens before it finally settled on Astrid, or rather the axe that she held in her hands. He was not even bothering to hide his surprise, his jaw was slack and his eyes were wide. She hastily looked back at the ground, suddenly feeling quite small under his incredulous stare.

"That knife almost hit you, Snot. I think your skills might be getting rusty," Hiccup taunted once he regained his composure.

"They are not!" Snotlout whined. "I just wasn't expecting it!"

Gobber roughly pushed past the bickering cousins, all the while grumbling about careless teenagers. He unlocked the main gate and then turned back with a serious expression on his face, "Welcome to dragon training!"

The Viking teens slowly passed under the gate, descending the small slope that brought them down into the arena. Each was mystified by the grandeur that lay before them. For seven generations the Kill Ring had been used to train the bravest of warriors to fight against dragons and now, it was their turn. The arena was circular, surrounded by walls made of stone and an iron cage encasing the top to keep the dragons from escaping once they were released into the arena for training exercises. On the furthest side of the Ring were six large fire-proof cells, each bolted shut with multiple locking mechanisms. Although it could not be seen from the outside, each cage was double fortified with the solid iron door on the outside and a second gridded gate behind it. The Hairy Hooligans took the security of their captured dragons very seriously.

"Now, pay attention! As ye all heard last night, the Viking who does the best in training will win the honor of slaying the Night Fury in front of the entire village!" Gobber announced.

"Well, Hiccup _technically_ brought down the Night Fury, so doesn't that disqualify him or something?" Snotlout said in an attempt to get a rise out of his cousin, payback for Hiccup's earlier jab. Odds were against him, though. Hiccup rarely lost his temper and this time was sure to be no different. Sure, he would scowl, he would frown, he would roll his eyes, but it took a lot to get any kind of truly negative emotion other than sarcasm out of Hiccup.

As predicted, Hiccup merely chuckled, "All the more reason for me to kick your—"

"Behind these bolted gates are just a few of the dragon species that ye will encounter during a raid," Gobber continued, cutting off Hiccup's smart remark. "During dragon training, ye will learn the strengths and weaknesses of each of these dragons. Ye will learn the quickest and most effective way to take each species down. During a raid, there's no time for error. Ye have to be sharp and ye have to be fast. A mere second could mean the difference between life and death."

The large man walked down a line of cages, naming the species of dragon behind every gate. Every common species was present—Deadly Nadder, Monstrous Nightmare, Hideous Zippleback, Terrible Terror, and Gronckle. Fishlegs comically sprouted facts on each of the species as Gobber named them. However, when Gobber got to the very last cage—one that was even more heavily secured than the previous ones—and announced that it housed the Night Fury, Fishlegs cut off with a slight whimper. He seemed troubled that he did not know any facts on the Night Fury.

Gobber frowned at Fishlegs' silence and clapped him on the shoulder as he passed by him. "The Night Fury is a dragon completely unknown to us, lad. Not even the dragon manual has any information about the species," he said in an attempt to console the boy. "Ye all will train against the other dragons but the Night Fury will remain in this cage. Only the winner of dragon training, chosen by the Elder, will face this deadly beast."

His words were sobering. Astrid felt worry spawn in her gut. The winner of dragon training would have to go up against a dragon that their people knew nothing about. They would have no idea how to prepare themselves for it. Beside her, Hiccup's jaw was clenched but his eyes betrayed nothing. She spared a glance at her other peers out of the corner of her eye. They too looked resolved, determined, showed absolutely no fear. Was she really the only one who felt nervous?

As the thought crossed her mind, Gobber moved to one of the cages. He leaned lazily against the lever mechanism and regarded the teens with a mischievous smirk. The look on his face worried her as if he was about to do something completely crazy.

" _Oh sweet Odin,_ " Hiccup cursed under his breath.

Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, the sound of a latch unhooking echoed through the arena.

"Whoa! Wait just a minute!" Snotlout cried. "Aren't you going to _teach_ us first?!"

If possible, Gobber's smirk grew even bigger. "This way is much more effective."

A shocked silence followed that was only broken when a large tan and purple Gronckle shot out of its confine looking every bit as angry as the caged animal that it was. Breaking out of their stupor, the teens scattered and dodged as the Gronckle flapped its tiny bee-like wings, circling the arena in a furious manner. It weaved in and out of the running group of Vikings for a few moments, confused by their haphazard and panicked movements before it eventually slammed into the wall and flopped onto its back. When it righted itself, Astrid could see the sheer fury in the creature's yellow eyes.

The night before she had thought she might have glimpsed some kind of unknown docile emotion in the Night Fury's eyes, but this Gronckle only had one thing on its mind— _destroy_. The dragon began snapping up rocks from the arena floor with its wide jaws, crunching them to bits as if they were nothing but crispy bread. Upon seeing this, Astrid began to back as far away from the dragon as she could, instinctively raising her shield to protect her body. She knew that soon the rock that the Gronckle ate would be regurgitated as a blast of lava.

"The lesson today is all about survival! If ye get hit by the Gronckle's lava blast, ye're out. In real life, ye'd be _dead_. Now, what is the most important thing to have with ye during battle?" Gobber's voice rose above the chaos.

"A doctor!" Hiccup's answered in his typical sarcastic tone.

Fishlegs, who was hovering near Astrid, cried out, "Plus five speed!"

Astrid's mind began to race as she thought through the list of weapons that would be most useful during battle. Sure, swords and axes could do a lot of damage but they could not necessarily protect you if you were fighting offense. What kind of tool could be used both offensively and defensively? Her eyes eventually fell on the beautifully crafted shield she held in front of her and suddenly, she knew the answer.

"A shield!" she yelled.

"Yes! A shield! Grab a shield!" Gobber barked. "The most important thing to have with ye during a battle is yer shield. It can protect ye _and_ disable yer enemy. If ye must make a choice between a sword and a shield, always pick the shield!"

None of the Viking teens, save Astrid, had thought to bring a shield. Luckily, the arena had many wooden shields lying about. Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Snotlout scrambled to grab the closest shield they could find while the twins both ran over to a shield with flames on it and began fighting over it like a couple of bratty children. A short tug of war ensued, ending only once Ruffnut slammed the shield onto Tuffnut's head after he made a comment about girls liking shields with flowers on them. The Gronckle used their distraction to make its attack. It shot a lava blast at them, taking the twins off guard. The lava blast hit the coveted shield, fortunately only knocking the twins off their feet instead of mortally wounding them.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut—out!" Gobber called.

"What?!" Tuffnut pouted and turned to his twin. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Ruffnut cried indignantly. "It's not my fault you are such an idiot!"

Gobber ignored their spat and continued, "Dragons are easily confused by loud noises. Use yer shield to make lots of it and it will throw off the dragon's aim."

Meanwhile, the Gronckle continued its assault on the remaining four Viking teens. Taking Gobber's advice, Astrid began hitting the blunt of her ax against her shield, creating a loud reverberating noise. The other teens followed suit and soon the Gronckle's movements began to falter. It spun around in an aimless craze, unsure of where to go. They continued making noise with their weapons and shields, surrounding the confused dragon until Gobber asked how many consecutive shots a Gronckle could make.

"Six! Gronckles have a shot limit of six!" Fishlegs answered.

"Correct!"

Fishlegs stopped hitting his shield, sidetracked by answering the question correctly. The proud grin on his face was wiped away as a lava blast hit his shield, splintering it in his grasp and causing shards of wood to explode in his face. Astrid winced as the boy screamed in pain and ran to the opposite side of the arena to hide behind Gobber. In watching Fishlegs, Astrid forgot to make noise on her own shield. Her eyes widened when she realized that the Gronckle had a new target— _her_.

She ran as fast as she could to get out of its line of fire, ducking and dodging instinctively away from the dragon's club-like tail. Her movements were sloppy but in her blind panic for her life, it was good enough to avoid getting crushed. Before long, Astrid could feel the sweat pouring down her neck and forehead. Her breath began to labor. She was not used to exerting so much energy. Still, she thought that she was doing quite well, considering her less than stellar track record. She had yet to knock anything over or run into anyone, or trip. But, just as the thought crossed her mind, her foot caught on something unseen and she crashed down onto the dirt floor of the arena. As she fell, her axe fell from her grasp, landing _oh so conveniently_ in between the Gronckle's feet. Terrified, she curled her legs towards her stomach and covered her body as best as she could with her shield. But the blast never came.

"Hey, lump face! Over here!"

The distraction worked. The Gronckle immediately lost interest in Astrid, turning its sight instead to the owner of the voice.

Hiccup was positioned just behind the Gronckle, his shield raised in front of him for protection. Snotlout stood a few paces behind him, babbling about working out in his parent's basement after training. The dragon released a third fiery blast at the cousins. Hiccup somersaulted out of the way, but Snotlout could not move out of the way fast enough. The shot desecrated his wooden shield in a manner similar to Fishlegs'.

"Snotlout, yer out!" Gobber announced.

Hiccup's somersault landed him next to Astrid and to her surprise, he held out a hand to her. She wrapped her fingers around his calloused ones with a sheepish grin as he pulled her to her feet. "Well, I guess it's just me and you now," Astrid remarked, looking up him through her lashes.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at her, "Nope, it's just _me_."

She frowned, "What?"

"Pay attention!" he snapped, exasperation slipping into his tone.

Before she had the chance to ask what he meant, a fourth blast nearly connected with her shield, sending her right back down to the ground with a cry of surprise. While she struggled to get back on her feet for the second time, Hiccup took off running in an attempt to buy her some time. The dragon took the bait and gave chase while shooting a fifth blast that missed him by mere inches.

Unlike Astrid, the Chief's son moved with practiced grace. He expertly somersaulted, cartwheeled, spun, and twisted away from the dragon's massive tail and wide jaws. Against her better judgment, Astrid grew distracted by his nimble movements and the way that his sweaty russet hair clung to his forehead. She was so busy watching _him_ that she barely registered that he was charging in her direction, the dragon hot on his heels with its jaw wide open and fire rising from within.

" _ASTRID_!"

She could not move out of the way quickly enough and he was running so fast that he could not slow his momentum down in time to avoid crashing into her. Soon Hiccup's frantic face filled her vision. His body collided roughly into hers, sending the pair tumbling to the ground in a cloud of dust. While Astrid unceremoniously landed on her backside, Hiccup managed to roll into a near-seated crouch in front of her. Seemingly unfazed by the tumble, he swiftly tossed his wooden shield forward like a boomerang just as the Gronckle fired is sixth and final lava blast at them. The fire connected with the spinning shield, causing a small explosion between the two Vikings and the Gronckle. Hiccup then sprung to his feet and brandished his sword. But before he could make his attack, Gobber hooked the boulder-class dragon in the mouth with his prosthetic hand and sent it back into the cage from which it came.

When the Gronckle's cell closed and the latch clicked into place, Gobber turned to the trainees with a frown on his face. "I think that is enough for today."

Once he caught his breath, Hiccup turned and gave Astrid a scowl that almost made her refuse the hand he once again offered to her. She squelched up every ounce of courage she could muster in order to wrap her fingers around his, but she could not bring herself to look at him as she did so. She could not bear to see disappointment and agitation directed at her for the second time in less than a day. To her relief, he dropped her hand as if it burned him as soon as she was standing and stalked moodily over to his cousin, who had blood dripping down his face from the splintered wood of his shield.

"Hiccup, take yer cousin and Fishlegs to the healer to have their injuries looked at," Gobber requested. "The rest of ye are free to go for now. I will see ye all at _náttmál_ to discuss today's training exercise." **[1]**

The Chief's son did as he was told, leaving the arena with Snotlout and Fishlegs in tow. Astrid looked around for Ruffnut but the twins had apparently already snuck away. With a heavy sigh and slumped shoulders, Astrid retrieved her weapons and made to leave the arena alone. She did not make it far before Gobber's voice stopped her.

"Ye did surprisingly well today, Astrid," he commented. "But ye need to pay more attention. Hiccup won't always be around to save ye when ye get yer head up in the clouds or whatever it is yer doing when ye freeze like that."

With that, Gobber left the arena leaving Astrid fighting humiliation and shame.

 _Freeze_.

 _Frozen_ _Hofferson_.

Whether Gobber meant it intentionally or not, the word reverberated in her mind. Astrid knew that she could do much better. She had actually been doing really well until she tripped. That had been the trigger to her spiral of screw-ups, making Hiccup come to her rescue— _again_ —because she was just not strong enough, not fast enough, and not observant enough. It was mortifying. She was a Hofferson and while that did not mean very much to the Hairy Hooligan tribe anymore, the name had once brought fear to even the bravest of souls. The Hofferson clan had once been a force to be reckoned with. Where was the honor now? There was none. It was stolen by a dragon that only made its appearance even ten years. All that was left of the mighty Hofferson clan was a widow and her embarrassment of a daughter.

Astrid felt that she owed it to her mother, her father, her Uncle Finn—Hel the entire Hofferson clan—to win dragon training, slay the Night Fury, and ultimately restore the honor of her family. With that in mind, Astrid slung her small axe over her shoulder, righted her shield, and walked out of the Kill Ring with her head held high and a fierce determination rising within her chest. She had some issues to resolve with some trees.

—

"This time, this time for sure! HI-ARGHHHHHH!"

The fierce battle cry echoed through the forest, disturbing a small flock of birds and a few woodland creatures. The sound was followed by a loud thunk as an axe embedded itself in a tree. Her palms were blistered and bleeding, her shoulder was screaming in pain, but she could not bring herself to care. Astrid allowed a small smile to rise to her lips as she gently rubbed her strained shoulder. It was nearly dark and she had been practicing nonstop since leaving the arena that morning. When she began, she promised herself she would not stop until she actually accomplished something worthwhile. It had been hard work but she was determined. She had trudged on, through the pain and through her hunger, and finally, she succeeded.

"YEAH!" She cheered, pumping her fist in the air and then hissed when the movement jostled her shoulder.

Knowing that she needed to return to the village for _náttmál_ , Astrid went to retrieve her axe. Just as she was about to pull her axe from the trunk, a rustling in the brush behind her made her pause. Based on the darkening sky, Astrid knew she had stayed in the woods far longer than perhaps she should have. The forests of Berk were not particularly dangerous during the day, but at night it was not uncommon to come across a rogue dragon or two. The rustling continued. She slowed her movements and tilted her head slightly, trying to identify the sound. Whatever it was, it sounded quite large.

Suddenly the rustling stopped.

Astrid slowly turned, hoping that whatever was there had left. Her heart leap to her throat when her eyes landed on the source of the noise, which had _not_ left as she had hoped. At the edge of the small clearing that she occupied, stood a bipedal dragon with a crown on spikes on its head and a horned nose—a Deadly Nadder. The Nadder was mostly blue in color, like the sky, with a swirling mass of yellows, reds, and oranges on its forearm wings.

It was beautiful.

But more importantly, it was deadly.

Her hands began to tremor. She was terrified. Her axe was stuck in the tree and her shield was propped up against a boulder several yards behind her. If the dragon attacked, she had no means to protect herself. The dragon, however, made no move to approach her. It stood, watching the blonde Viking with big yellow eyes, its pupils dilated in curiosity. She had seen a dragon act similarly before. The Monstrous Nightmare that nearly destroyed her house had seemed curious at first too before it nearly roasted her to bits. Astrid released a shuddered breath and the dragon let out a low squawk, tilting its head to the side as if _it_ were confused.

The _Viking_ thing to do would be to rush for her axe or her shield and attempt to _slay_ the beast. Logically, though, Astrid knew she could not reach her weapons in time and as cowardly as it was, she knew she was no match for a Deadly Nadder. It would just take one expertly aimed spine shot and then she would have Nadder poison running through her veins. That was something she definitely wanted to avoid at all cost. Dying a horrible, painful death was not on her list of things to do that day. Thus, she remained frozen in place, fearing that if she so much as moved a muscle, the dragon with the hottest fire on _Midgard_ would incinerate her.

After what felt like hours—but in reality was probably only a few minutes—the Nadder grew bored of watching her and stomped away back into the dense forest. When Astrid was sure it was gone and was not coming back, she collapsed to the forest floor with a shuddering gasp. Her entire body was shaking from…what exactly? Fear? Anger? She was not quite sure. All she knew was that a wild dragon had the perfect chance to kill her, but instead, it had simply _let her go_. It had walked away. Every Viking instinct within her screamed that the dragon by all accounts should have viciously mauled her to death, yet the blue Nadder had merely appeared curious.

 _No. Dragons are killers, monstrous beasts, spawns of Hel herself. They are incapable of feeling._

Trying her best to push away the conflicting experience from her thoughts, Astrid retrieved her weapons and rushed back to the village. She was late. Judging by the lack of people milling around the town square, _náttmál_ had already begun. Astrid pushed herself harder, taking the steps up to the Great Hall two at the time. When she burst through the doors, she noted Gobber's large form by his hooked hand waving about and followed his familiar brogue to the trainee table. Everyone was present and accounted for except for her. The twins had one side of the table to themselves while Hiccup sat in the middle of Snotlout and Fishlegs on the other. Gobber stood at the head of the table, lecturing the trainees as they ate their evening meal. It appeared as though the teens were not paying much attention his lecture, however. Tuffnut was attempting to balance a knife on his nose, Hiccup was doodling something in a notebook, and Snotlout was attempting _and failing miserably_ at flirting with Ruffnut. Fishlegs was really the only one listening to anything Gobber was saying and that was probably only because Gobber was giving him a critique of his performance in the Ring that morning.

"There she is!" Ruffnut suddenly cried, breaking Gobber off mid-sentence.

The blacksmith spun around, his lips turning downward when he saw Astrid stumbling towards the table. "And where have ye been?" he cried. " _Náttmál_ started ages ago! Ye've missed most of the discussion!"

"I-I was in the forest." Astrid panted.

"Aye, that is apparent," Gobber remarked, taking in her dirty appearance. "Now that Astrid finally decided to show up, who can tell me where she went wrong in the Ring today?"

Snotlout snickered, "She bothered showing up."

Instead of a biting back a reply, Astrid plopped down on the bench next to Ruffnut and shot him a glare as she accepted a plate of chicken that the female twin offered. Bringing the chicken leg to her lips, she chomped down violently with her teeth. It was entirely unladylike, but Astrid could not help but smile when Snotlout winced as fat juice squirted with the force of her bite.

"Anyone else have any thoughts?" Gobber asked irritably.

Astrid froze mid-bite when Hiccup suddenly spoke, "She's not where she should be."

The chicken leg clattered to her plate, "What do you mean, ' _she is not where she should be'_?" She barked back before she could stop herself, mocking his nasally tone. "Are you saying you agree with Snotlout?"

"Astrid," Hiccup sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That's not what I—"

"No, I think that is exactly what you meant," Astrid growled as she let her frustration take over. She thought about his actions the previous night and his hurtful words. She thought about all the disappointed looks he shot her in the Ring that morning. He did not believe in her, not anymore. And with that realization, she snapped. "You think I'm just as weak and delicate as everyone else does! I'm nothing but an embarrassment to Berk in your eyes!"

" _Astrid_ —" His words were once again cut off as she impulsively reached over, grabbed the knife that Tuffnut was still attempting to balance on his nose, and brought it dangerously close to Hooligan heir's face.

Everyone froze.

Even Gobber could not find his voice to tell them to settle down. Sure, Astrid occasionally let her temper get the best of her whenever the state of her family's honor was brought up, but no one had ever seen her act out violently towards anyone over it before—much less towards _Hiccup_ of all people.

But Hiccup did not appear bothered by her threat. He narrowed his eyes and batted the knife out of Astrid's grasp as if he were swatting away a pest. It clattered noisily to the ground, breaking the otherwise stunned silence that had engulfed their table. He then stood up from the bench and leaned forward, his nose nearly touching Astrid's. All she could see was the mass of fury swirling in his green orbs.

"You know _nothing_ ," he hissed.

The two heated teens remained locked in a glaring contest until Snotlout finally clamped a hand on his cousin's shoulder and forced him back down onto the bench. As soon as he was seated, Hiccup shrugged off Snotlout's hand and took a large gulp of his drink—which judging by the smell of his breath, Astrid assumed it was either mead or ale. Gobber finally came out of his shocked silence and sensibly changed the subject, moving on to the Dragon Manual and how the trainees would need to study it extensively if they had any hope of becoming great warriors.

"A smart Viking should know a dragon's every strength and weakness. Never be caught off guard by something ye did not know because ye didn't study." Gobber looked pointedly between the twins and Snotlout as he said this. He then left the book in Tuffnut's care and hobbled out of the Great Hall, no doubt going back to the forge in search of some peace and quiet.

"You mean I have to read for this?" Tuffnut moaned, looking at the book as if it was a foreign item on Trader Johann's ship. "While I'm still alive? What kind of cruel punishment is this?!"

Snotlout slammed his fist into the table, causing a fork to flip onto Hiccup's plate. "Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about," he whined.

Hiccup ran his hands over his face, "You know, it's actually not that bad."

"I've read it seven times!" Fishlegs added enthusiastically.

Tuffnut shoved the book towards Fishlegs, "Here! Take it! I don't want it!"

"Yeah, _you_ losers can read and us _real_ Vikings can go kill things," Snotlout agreed.

The male twin grinned manically, "I couldn't have said it better myself! Lead the way, Snot-man!"

Tuffnut and Snotlout rushed from the hall to do Odin knows what, leaving the four more levelheaded teens at the table to finish their dinner and read from the dragon book. Fishlegs volunteered to read passages aloud, although it was obvious that none of them truly cared to learn in that moment. It was just a distraction. Hiccup kept shooting Astrid angry glances, Astrid refused to look at Hiccup, Ruffnut was hesitantly glancing at Fishlegs whenever she thought he was not looking, and Fishlegs was pretending not to notice. The group of four were a dramatic mess of emotions. It was not until they got to the Night Fury page that their attention was truly captured.

"According to the Dragon Manual, the Night Fury's speed and size are unknown. _It is the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself._ Bork the Bold advises to never, ever engage this dragon **[2]**. The only chance you have is to hide and pray it does not find you," Fishlegs read. He was silent for a moment, obviously pondering something by the quizzical look on his face. "I guess now we can update this part of the manual. We know the Night Fury's size and what it looks like thanks to you, Hiccup," he said, clapping the thinner boy on the back.

Hiccup frowned, "I really didn't do anything, Fishlegs. Dad exaggerated everything."

Even though she was angry with him, Astrid perked up at the change of topic. The events of the previous night were still unknown to her. Beside her, Ruffnut looked interested by their words as well.

"But your net hit it," Fishlegs argued. "We all saw it. Well, I guess Ruffnut and Astrid didn't but…"

"Where were you anyway?" Hiccup asked Ruffnut, avoiding Astrid's stare. "Tuff said that you didn't show up until after."

"Unlike the rest of you, I stayed with Astrid to make sure she was okay after her house _nearly burnt down_ ," Ruffnut snapped pointedly and smirked when Hiccup winced. "Which in case you were wondering, she was _fine_. Astrid's tough. Then _we_ went into the woods to avoid the Night Fury's blasts after a catapult nearly collapsed on us." Hiccup still did not respond to her bated words, but it was clear by the look on his face that they did affect him.

"Hiccup, you should draw the Night Fury in the Dragon Manual," Fishlegs said, changing the topic to break the tense silence that followed in the wake of Ruffnut's words.

The Hooligan heir took the Dragon Manual from Fishlegs outreached hand and began to draw a rough sketch of the Night Fury on the mostly blank pages. After getting Fishlegs' approval, Hiccup slammed the book shut, and left the Hall without another word. Fishlegs jumped to his feet and ran after him, leaving Ruffnut and Astrid alone.

"What was that all about?" Astrid hissed to the female twin after the other two had left.

Ruffnut shrugged, "I was just trying to take him down a notch or two. He keeps treating you as though you are something breakable—you're not."

Of all people, Astrid never expected Ruffnut to stick up for her. Part of her was somewhat touched, although she would never admit that out loud. She had always considered Ruffnut to be an attachment of her twin—stupid and reckless—but over the past couple years the female twin had really grown up, relating more to Astrid than what she initially realized. Astrid was coming to see Ruffnut as less of an acquaintance and more of an actual friend.

"I'm glad someone finally sees that," Astrid finally muttered when she got over her shock.

"You may not be the strongest Viking there ever was, you may be a bit clumsy, and trouble always seems to find you, _but_ you're smart and you can be pretty light on your feet when you want to. With some practice, you could be really good," Ruffnut replied with a grin. "Plus, that new axe of yours is pretty badass. It's light and perfectly balanced for someone your size. What Snotlout said about it being toddler sized is complete hogwash!"

A small smile crept onto Astrid's face, "Thanks."

"So, what were you doing in the forest today anyways?" The other blonde inquired. "And why are you covered in dirt?"

"I was throwing my axe at trees."

Ruffnut appeared intrigued by this piece of information, "Do tell."

—

It was late when she returned to her house that evening.

Astrid had not anticipated talking with Ruffnut as long as she had, but it had been a pleasant surprise. The two young women had talked at long length about training strategies that Astrid could try with her axe, their responsibilities after dragon training, and also about the dragon raids themselves. They talked for so long that they were both stifling yawns when they finally parted ways for the night.

Unsurprisingly, Herleva was still awake despite the late hour. She sat near the hearth in her favorite chair, mending the hem of a dress. The older blonde glanced up and smiled softly when Astrid finally shuffled in the front door. "How did training go, dear?" She questioned immediately.

"It went fine." Astrid snorted at her mother's impatience as she began to shrug off her armor. "Actually, it went better than I expected, despite the fact that it was nothing like what I thought training would be like. Gobber just set a Gronckle loose on us and told us that we were on our own."

"Aye, that does sound like Gobber," Herleva chuckled. "I don't see any life threatening wounds so it must not have gone too horribly."

"Gobber said I did well. Don't worry, this is my chance to prove myself. If I win dragon training and slay the Night Fury, our honor will be restored. I won't let our family name continue to be the laughing stock of the tribe." Herleva brought a hand to her chest, her eyes shining with pride at Astrid's words. Unsure of what else to say after such a heartfelt declaration, Astrid stretched and yawned. She suddenly felt drained. "I have training again early in the morning. I should turn in for the night."

"Wait, before ye go, how did the axe work out for ye?"

The smile that appeared on Astrid's lips was radiant. "It's amazing! It was forged beautifully and it's a perfect size, weight, and balance for me. I don't know how Gobber did it." She glanced down at the weapon fondly.

Herleva smiled secretively before wishing her daughter goodnight.

—

 **[1] Vikings typically only ate two meals during the day,** ** _dagmál_** **(day meal) around mid-morning and** ** _náttmál_** **(night meal) in the evening after the day's work was completed.**

 **[2] For those who have not watched the DreamWorks Dragons series or shorts, Bork the Bold is the researcher and creator of the Dragon Manual. He also is Gobber's great-grandfather.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _She grew up living in the shadow of her clan's greatest shame. When a rare dragon is shot down in a raid and offered up to the winner of dragon training, Astrid Hofferson sees it as a chance to finally prove herself. But then a chance encounter with a Deadly Nadder leads to a change of heart, throwing her life and the future of Berk into chaos. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Chapter Three**

It was strange to face a Deadly Nadder in the Ring the next morning, especially considering her strange encounter just the day before with a dragon of the very same species. In fact, she felt rather uneasy about the whole training exercise that Gobber had cooked up for them that morning. To teach the Viking teens to defend against attacks, he pinned them against a Deadly Nadder and instructed the trainees to be quick and light on their feet to avoid its deadly fire and poisonous tail spikes. A series of wooden walls had been set up in the arena to act as a maze. The maze worked well on the Viking teens, they constantly found themselves running into dead ends with nowhere to go. The maze did not, however, work well for the dragon. Because of its size and ability to fly, the Deadly Nadder observed them from the air and perched on top of the walls of the maze to strike at the cornered teens below.

Unlike the day before with the Gronckle, Astrid tried her best to avoid the dragon all together. She expertly used her small size to duck into hidden corners and repeatedly challenged the Nadder's blind spot. The routine worked in the opposite way of how Astrid had hoped it would. Instead of ignoring her, the dragon clearly was irritated by her stealthy escapes and outmaneuvers, choosing to pursue her over the others. Thus, Astrid found herself huffing and puffing, rolling and diving away from the Nadder's near constant stream of fire aimed at her back and dodging several poisonous spine shots. Yet she never initiated an attack in return, not even when she had a clear shot. There had been several opportunities to strike, but something stilled her hand every time. She could not help but notice that this Nadder, whose scales were an earthy blend of greens, yellows, and oranges, was not nearly as docile as her sky colored one. **[1]**

Wait, _her_ Nadder?

Astrid shook her head, banishing the thought of her head. She was _not_ associated with that Nadder in the forest—period. In fact, when she went back into the woods to practice with her axe again after training, Astrid was sure she would not see the sky blue Nadder again. Surely it was long gone by now.

 _Focus!_

The sharp chirp of the green Nadder brought her out of her reverie.

Looking up, she found the dragon perched on the wooden wall directly above her, again. It stared down at her, pupils narrowed into tiny black slits surrounded by a bright yellow iris. Glancing around, Astrid realized that her distracting thoughts had forced her back into a dead end, _again_. To attempt to run or somersault out of her trapped position would be suicide. The Nadder would be on her in seconds. She released a shaky breath, not daring to move. Then to her utter disbelief, the dragon cocked its head to the side and cooed softly. Her eyes widened in shock and she lowered her weapons slightly. The green Nadder reached its snout forward to lightly sniff at her golden hair. For a mere breath of a second, dragon and Viking stared at one another—studying, comparing, and sharing curiosity—but the moment was shattered when she heard Ruffnut and Tuffnut's voices coming in her direction.

The twins barreled around the corner with their spears raised, only to stop short when the Deadly Nadder jumped down from the wall with an angry squawk, its claws digging harshly into the soft earth below as it landed. Tuffnut and Ruffnut found themselves face to face with an extremely irritated dragon. Astrid, however, found herself in an even more unfavorable position. She was trapped between the dead end of the maze and the backside of the Nadder. More importantly, the dragon's lethal tail. While Astrid fought to control her panic over her predicament, a short squabble ensued between the twins as they both fought to position themselves in the Nadder's blind spot. For a moment, they succeeded and the Nadder cocked its head to the side in confusion when its targets suddenly disappeared. However, as per typical of the twins when they were in close quarters, the silence did not last long.

"Yuck!" Ruffnut wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Do you ever bathe?!"

To spite his sister, Tuffnut wrapped an arm around her shoulders and forced her face into his armpit. "Like it? This is my own personal essence." He said proudly.

"Yeah? Well, your _essence_ smells like yak shit." She coughed.

"Fine, don't like it? Get your own blind spot!"

Ruffnut's hand predicatively curled into a fist, "How about I give you a blind spot!"

The Nadder swiftly lunged forward, effectively breaking up the twins' argument. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were forced to roll out of the way as the dragon released a stream of fire that incinerated part of the wooden wall behind them. They scrambled to their feet and ran back the way they came with the Nadder hot on their heels. Above them, in a safe position outside of the ring, Gobber made a sarcastic comment about Deadly Nadders not having a _deaf spot_.

When the dragon was out of sight, Astrid released a shuddered breath and pushed away from the wall with shaky legs. What had just happened? What would the green Nadder have done if the twins had not interrupted? With her axe clutched tightly in hand and her shield on her left arm, she carefully rounded the corners of the maze, all the while keeping an ear out for the Nadder. When she heard Fishlegs suddenly scream on the other end of the maze, she knew the dragon's position and breathed a sigh of relief to know she was heading in the opposite direction of the creature. She could only hope that Gobber would end the exercise soon. Her heart was not in training that day. Her mind was a million miles away. Twice now she had witnessed a dragon hesitate in its attack. What did that even mean?

"Astrid!"

She blinked and saw Hiccup and Snotlout crouched down a few feet ahead of her. Hiccup was the one who had spoken. The look on his face was impassive but he motioned for her to join him and his cousin. Snotlout, for his part, looked appalled that Hiccup was even acknowledging her. For a moment, she considered disregarding them entirely and finding her own path. She did not want to be anywhere _near_ Snotlout for fear that she might bash him in the face with her shield if he so much as breathed the wrong way around her. Not to mention, that morning Hiccup had completely ignored her, refusing to even look at her when she had arrived for training earlier than the others. They had stood in a tense silence that was only broken by the arrival of the twins several minutes later.

So what could he possibly want with her now?

"For Odin's sake, Astrid! Come here!" Hiccup reiterated quietly, catching the look of distrust on her face.

She hesitated. Well actually, the blonde Viking only hesitated until she heard a squawk that sounded much to close for her liking. The Nadder's call was all it took for her resolve to crumble. Astrid rushed over to where the Hooligan heir and his cousin were couched and carefully fell into in a similar stance. It was silent for a few tense moments. Then, heavy footsteps began to close in on them. Hiccup turned and met Astrid's gaze briefly before motioning for her and Snotlout to stay back. Astrid complied, watching with baited breath as he carefully peered around the wall.

It was just a quick glance, but he must have seen Nadder because his eyes widened and he flattened his back against the wood behind him. Snotlout raised a curious brow. Hiccup swallowed thickly, nodding as a look of determination settled on his face. Before Astrid could question a plan of action, Hiccup abruptly rolled with his shield across the Nadder's path to reach another wooden wall on the other side. Snotlout promptly followed using the same shield roll. When the two young men were couched behind the other wall, Hiccup turned to Astrid and silently motioned for her to follow. The Nadder squawked again, this time low in the back of its throat. It was getting impatient. She needed to make a decision. Astrid took a deep breath and switched her shield over to the right hand. Following Hiccup and Snotlout's move, she brought the shield down to the ground, folded her body inward, and attempted to use the balance of the shield to somersault over to the other wall where Hiccup and a reluctant Snotlout waited for her. But the Gods were not on Astrid's side. Her arm twisted awkwardly as she rolled and Astrid landed hard on her back in the middle of the two walls, completely exposed to the dragon.

"Run!" Hiccup shouted, giving away his hiding spot.

Then, everything happened too fast.

Astrid scrambled to her feet with a whimper, grabbing her shield and axe as she went. She braced herself for the fire, for the poison, but nothing came. The dragon did not lunge towards her. Instead, it flapped its large wings and took to the sky, swiftly landing on the wall that Hiccup and Snotlout hid behind. Realizing what was about to happen, Astrid tried to call out to them, to warn them, but the words were stuck in her throat. The dragon opened its mighty jaws, fire rising in its belly. Then, the wall and everything around it burst into flames.

For one terrifying second, her heart stopped.

Astrid staggered back, her axe and shield dropping to the ground in shock as the Nadder took to the air again, flying off to a different part of the maze with another irritated chirp. She registered Gobber's bellowing voice in the background but could not make sense of what he was yelling. Sound fell from her own lips as well but in her panic, she was not even aware if it made any sense. The blonde ran on shaky legs to the smoldering remains of the wall, fully prepared for the gruesome and traumatic sight that was sure to await, only to stop in surprise when she was met with _nothing_. Nothing but burnt wood and ash that is.

Hiccup and Snotlout were nowhere to be found.

Movement in her left peripheral caught her attention. It was several yards away but someone had thrown a mace, and missed. "What do you want me to do Hiccup, block out the sun?!" Astrid was never so happy to hear Snotlout's voice and immediately ran towards it to make sure both he and his cousin were okay. "I can do that, but I'm kind of busy right now!"

She rounded the corner just as Hiccup replied, "Oh, the sun was in your eyes was it? I just think your aim is getting sloppy!"

" _Hiccup!_ " She cried in relief and rushed towards them.

The cousins looked up in confusion at the sudden interruption of their argument. Hiccup's green eyes flickered between Astrid's panicked face and her weaponless body as she barreled forward. The blonde did not get very far however, before a large shadow passed overhead. The green Nadder returned. Astrid just barely avoided a perfectly aimed line of poisonous spikes as they embedded themselves into the earth between her and the two male teens. Knowing what was coming next, all three Viking teens ducked down as a sparking stream of fire promptly incinerated the wall closest to them.

Suddenly, the twins ran passed them, effectively distracting the green Nadder for a moment. It chirped shrilly and dove after the twins, shooting tail spikes as it went. When the dragon was out of sight, Hiccup turned to Astrid. "Where is your shield?!" He yelled incredulously.

Astrid shrugged in response, suddenly feeling very foolish. "I dropped it."

Snotlout sniggered behind his hand. With an irritated glare, Hiccup tossed Astrid his own shield and unsheathed his sword in one smooth motion. Miraculously, she managed to catch the shield without making a complete fool of herself. When she positioned it on her arm, she noted that it was about the same size and weight as her own shield and marked with similar carvings to boot. The knotted pattern was very similar, if not nearly identical to the pattern on her own weapons. Astrid looked up at Hiccup, but he stubbornly refused to meet her questioning gaze. Instead, he motioned for Snotlout to follow him and took off after the Nadder. With one last snooty look in Astrid's direction, the burly brunet followed.

Once Hiccup and Snotlout were gone, Astrid ran around the maze in a bit of a daze. If she thought her mind had been troubled before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now. For a few excruciating moments, she had thought that she witnessed the untimely death of her tribe's heir and his cousin, who was unfortunately next in line for the chiefdom after Hiccup. Had the Nadder actually caught both of them with its fire, their deaths would have been a devastating blow to the tribe. Then who would have been the Chief's successor? Fishlegs? Tuffnut? Gustav Larson? **[2]**

In the past two days, Hiccup had spoken more to her than he had in three years and every single word was tinged with bitterness. Yet the truth of the matter was, no matter how hurtful his words were, no matter how angry she was at him, she could not bear to think of a world without Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III in it.

And that scared her more than anything.

Astrid was roughly brought out of her thoughts when Ruffnut suddenly slammed into her, knocking them both to the ground. The female twin smiled sheepishly and instantly extended her hand, helping Astrid up off the ground. Now that Astrid was brought out of her musings, she noticed that the Deadly Nadder had done quite a bit more damage to the wooden maze. Nearly half of it was either scorched beyond repair or snapped in half from the dragon's lethal force. The remaining half was in the process of being barreled over by said dragon as it chased after Hiccup. For his part, Hiccup appeared to have an advantage. He nimbly leapt away from the dragon's attacks, constantly staying one step ahead of it.

"Isn't this fun?" Ruffnut asked, looking gleeful at the amount of chaos going on around them.

"I wouldn't exactly call it that." Astrid replied with a small frown. Ruffnut had opened her mouth to retort, when suddenly Fishlegs rushed by with his hands in the air and his bear-skin tunic smoking. Astrid crossed her arms and smirked at her friend, "I think your _man_ might need some help."

Ruffnut rolled her eyes but did not argue. Then, to Astrid's utter surprise, she ran after Fishlegs yelling, "Wait! You need to take off your tunic, Fish!"

" _ASTRIIIIIID_!"

At the sound of her name, the blonde whirled around just in time to see a wall crashing down towards her with Hiccup precariously balanced on top of it. She tried to get out of the way— _she really did_ —but she could not move fast enough. Hiccup landed hard, right on top of her. They crashed on the ground in a twisted pile of arms and legs, his face hovering above her, and his hot breath swirling in her face. She could feel him _everywhere_. Heat rushed to her face and her stomach as she gazed up at him with wide eyes. Strangely, his face held none of the rejection or anger that she expected. In fact, his entire face softened.

"How is it that you always manage to end up on the ground?" Hiccup breathed out with a tiny laugh.

It was not a hurtful jab, but rather a playful teasing. One that reminded her of their childhood. Still, she could not form a proper response. He was too close. All she could focus on was _Hiccup_ and the way his body felt so tightly pressed against hers.

"Oooh, love on the battlefield!"

"Nah, she can do better." Ruffnut replied to her twin.

Astrid would kill the female twin later for how her remark made Hiccup stiffen.

Abruptly, his face hardened and a scowl took over the small smile that had had previously graced his lips. Hiccup roughly kicked his legs and shoved a palm against her shoulder. She was so stunned by the sudden force that she fell slack, allowing him just enough time to break free and rise to his feet. She scrambled to her own feet shortly after. That was when she noticed that the green Nadder had paused in its attack and was just staring straight at her, its head cocked in that same curious manner from before. But she was not the only one to notice the dragon's pause. Hiccup took the dragon's moment of hesitance and raised his sword with a fierce battle cry that echoed against the stone walls of the arena. Hearing the war cry, the Nadder bristled back into action, baring its teeth in warning and its tail rattling. Astrid's stomach lurched and her knees buckled. The edge of Hiccup's sword was turned in such a way that it would slice clean through the scales of the dragon's neck.

Just a day ago, she would have admired Hiccup's bravery in going after the Deadly Nadder. But now, something about what was about to happen felt so incredibly _wrong_. Her mind went into overdrive. The Nadder was not going to hurt her, not if she did not give it a reason to.

 _No_.

Her feet moved forward on their own accord. Somehow, she found herself in front of the edge of Hiccup's sword with her shield raised to meet it. Although he saw her coming, Hiccup did not have time to stop his swing. Her body faltered under the force of Hiccup's blow as his sword came crashing down, but she managed to keep her balance and pushed back with all her might. The astonishment upon Hiccup's face at meeting his own shield's resistance instead of dragon scales was apparent.

"No!" The tone of her voice was so sharp that Hiccup staggered back from her. His sword slipped from his grip in horror of what he had _almost_ done.

Astrid paid him little mind though and spun back around to face the Nadder, her breath ragged. Its jaw instantly snapped shut and the pupil inside the dragon's beady yellow eyes widened ever so slightly. To anyone else, the change would not have been evident but to Astrid, it was a sign of the cautious yield the creature graciously granted her. If she did not attack, it would not attack. She cringed, knowing that she had to take out the dragon in order to end the training exercise. And it _had_ to be her. The others would not give the dragon mercy. With pained eyes, she tried to show to Nadder her regret for the action she was about to take but she had no idea if it came across or not. Astrid raised the shield once more and twisted her torso slightly to get more leverage.

"I'm sorry." She whispered and then tossed the shield forward with all her might, letting it ricochet much as Hiccup had done the day before with the Gronckle.

Under normal circumstances, the blow likely would not have phased the dragon but in this case, it was not anticipating Astrid's attack. As the shield connected with the side of its face, the green Nadder staggered back on clumsy feet with a pained squawk. Gobber appeared in the ring shortly after and drove the dazed dragon back into its cage. As the gate slipped shut, guilt spawned in Astrid's stomach. She needed to get away from the arena. She needed to think.

But, before she could get anywhere, a hand clamped around to her wrist. Astrid turned, meeting Hiccup's frantic glare. "What the Hel was that? I could have _killed_ you!" He spat, his tone so lethal that Astrid tried to recoil from him but he held firm. "Why would you do something so stupid?!"

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right.

"I-I-I'm sorry." Astrid whispered, unsure of what else to say because even she did not know why she did it.

His grip tightened, bringing a whimper of pain to her lips but in his anger, Hiccup did not notice. "If you want to off yourself so badly, then be my guest." He hissed, green eyes flashing dangerously. "But this is not a game, Astrid! Our _parents_ war is about to become ours. Figure out if you can handle that or not." He then dropped her wrist and stormed out of the arena, leaving everyone in a state of shocked silence.

Tears of shame, embarrassment, and anger began to well in her eyes as she watched his retreating form. _She would not cry. She could not cry!_ She blinked furiously to hold them back. A gentler hand clamped down on her shoulder. She stiffened but turned to reluctantly met Ruffnut's concerned gaze. "I know that you want to win this so that you can restore your honor and I admire you for that, really I do. But, I don't think that it is worth the price of your life." She murmured quietly. "Why did you do it, Astrid?"

"I have no idea."

And it was the truth.

—

Later that afternoon after her chores were finished, the blonde Viking crept through the woods, unsure of what exactly she was looking for. Her shield and axe were strapped to her back and in the pack she carried at her side was a small chicken leg she had smuggled from _dagmál_ that morning. All Astrid knew was that she was curious and very confused. Since she was barely old enough to walk, it had been instilled in her brain that dragons _always went for the kill_. Yet on two occasions now, Astrid had witnessed contradictions to that.

 _What if everything Vikings thought about dragons was wrong?_

That traitorous thought circulated in her brain from the time that she left training that morning until she finished her chores and daily duties in the afternoon. All she could think about was the look on the green Nadder's face before she threw her shield at it. Maybe she was truly going mad, but she could have sworn she saw emotion in creature's eyes. What kind of emotion? Well, she was not exactly sure. If she showed a dragon that she was not a threat, would it not attack her? It was a crazy theory, but Astrid's mind would not rest until she found out. Going to the Kill Ring to see the green Nadder was out of the question. The villagers kept a constant eye on her because of _who_ she was. In broad daylight, the chances of someone stumbling upon them were high. No, her only chance at testing out her theory would be to go into the woods, away from the prying eyes of the tribe. It was likely that the blue Nadder was long gone, but it did not stop her from returning the small grove she had thrown her axe the day before in hopes of seeing the creature again.

But the grove was empty when she arrived, much to her disappointment.

Not wanting to waste her trip, Astrid removed her shield and axe from the straps on her back, leaned the shield against a rock beside her and held her axe with both hands. Her muscles were screaming from overuse but the young Viking ignored the soreness, focusing on a single tree trunk in front of her. She drew her arms back and let the axe fly. Her aim was off but she only missed the tree by mere inches, a major improvement from the way she started the day before. With a resigned sigh, Astrid retrieved her axe and repeated the action again.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and before Astrid knew it, the sun began to make its descent from the sky, bathing the small clearing in stark red and orange light. During her practice, her aim had improved overall, but she was not able to hit anywhere near the same spot on her target consecutively. Aiming one last shot, she let her axe soar through the air and smiled wryly when it sunk into the wood of the tree trunk. Deciding it was time to call it a day, she jogged over to the rather beaten up tree to grab her axe.

Her fingers had just closed around the handle when a loud squawk made her pause. Her head whipped around, eyes frantically searching for the source of the sound. She did not have to look far. A sky blue Deadly Nadder stood at the edge of the grove, its lower half partially hidden by thick brush. She was stunned. It was clearly the same Nadder from the day before, the colors and markings on its wings were unique and unmistakable. Her fingers slipped from the axe handle and she turned to face the dragon, making sure her movements were slow and measured so not the startle the creature. Carefully, she reached into her pack and pulled out the chicken leg she had brought with her. She had placed it in her pack in case she got hungry while practicing, but now it could be used for a better purpose. With a shaky smile, she offered it out to the dragon as a peace offering.

Truthfully, Astrid did not even know if dragons _liked_ chicken.

She clearly had a death wish.

The dragon sniffed the air for a moment before it cautiously began to stomp forward out of the brush on its large bipedal legs. It made a series of sharp clicking noises and bobbed its head in a way reminiscent of a bird as it approached her. Astrid held very still with the chicken leg dangling from her outreached hand, not daring to move even when the beast stopped just a few feet in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat when the Nadder reached its snout out towards her and let out a shrill screech. Astrid instantly dropped her peace offering, her hands covering her ears to shield them the piercing sound. The Nadder swiftly caught the chicken leg in its mouth before it hit the ground. It chewed the food, bones and all. Then it chirped and stomped over even closer to Astrid, very much invading her personal space in search of more food.

She stumbled back but found herself backed against a rock. "I-I'm sorry, that's all I have."

It was hard to believe she was apologizing to a dragon for the _second_ time that day.

Yes, she must be going crazy.

Oddly enough, the Nadder stepped back when she spoke and stopped its search for more chicken, almost as if it _understood_ her. When it was far enough back that Astrid could get a look at its face, a startled gasp escaped her when she saw that its pupils were rounded. The Gods had to be toying with her. The dragon seemed—happy? It chirped and bobbed its head playfully, blowing air out of its mouth that ruffled Astrid's bangs lightly. Both human and dragon froze, watching the other cautiously. Then, the Nadder leaned forward and repeated the action once more. It brought a completely unexpected reaction out of her, she laughed. She laughed long and hard, until her stomach ached and tears sprung to her eyes. It had been so long, years in fact, since she had laughed so hard and all because a dragon blew air in her face. The dragon clearly was confused over Astrid's reaction, but it waited patiently until she was able to collect herself.

It was ridiculous. It was crazy. It was impossible.

It was real.

When her laughter was finally under control, she reached out a hesitant hand towards the Nadder's curved frontal horn. The dragon startled, releasing a panicked squawk and its pupils narrowed ever so slightly. The more that she looked upon the timid dragon before, the more reverence she felt towards it. It was nearly three times the size of her. It could crush her, turn her to ash in seconds with its magnesium fire, but it was scared of _her_.

Calling upon some kind of hidden instinct, Astrid began to speak in low, comforting murmurs, attempting to calm the Deadly Nadder as if it was nothing more than scared livestock. "It's okay. It's alright. I won't hurt you. Please, just trust me." She murmured softly with her hand still outreached. "You are a pretty thing, you know that? I have never seen a Deadly Nadder as beautiful as you. You have stormy-sky scales. I bet you get quite a bit of attention. All the male Nadders must fight over you! You are a female aren't you?" The Nadder bobbed its head and Astrid giggled. "I thought so. I've read that female Nadders usually have brighter scales than male Nadders." **[3]**

The dragon snorted in response.

Astrid continued crooning gently to the uncertain creature as it inched closer and closer to her. The seconds seemed to pass by at a crawl but eventually, the Nadder closed the final distance between them, pressing its scaly snout into her palm. Despite the warning bells ringing soundly in her head, Astrid's fingers curled around the bird-like dragon's nose and relished the warmth rising from its scales. What she was doing went against everything she had ever been taught, everything that she thought she knew, but a smile still made its way to her face. She ran her hands over the Nadder's snout, stroked its frontal horn, and laughed when the dragon began to preen at all the attention she was getting.

"Thank you for trusting me, Stormfly." The name fell from her lips on instinct. Somehow, she knew that it fit this dragon perfectly.

And for the first time in Berk's history, a bond began to form between a Viking and a Dragon.

—

Once again, Astrid was late to _náttmál_. And once again, Gobber got onto her about missing another post-training meeting, but she barely noticed his lecture. Her mind was off someplace else—more specifically in the forest with a Deadly Nadder that she had impulsively decided to call Stormfly. The blue Nadder seemed to take to the name well enough and went so far as to nuzzle into Astrid's hair when she left the forest with a promise to return in the morning with more food. It was all a bit surreal. That afternoon she had befriended a dragon, an enemy of Berk. She knew that she had to keep Stormfly a secret. The villagers would not understand and she could not risk getting caught. She could be banished from the tribe or worse, branded a traitor with a death sentence attached to it. She would have to be careful to cover her tracks when visiting Stormfly in the future and could not afford to make mistakes like she had in the Kill Ring that morning. She could not let her curiosity and emotions interfere with training again.

"Astrid, where do ye think ye went wrong in the ring today?" Gobber's voice broke her from her thoughts.

This again? Did Gobber have to constantly give the others opportunities to point out her short comings? She rolled her eyes, expecting at few offensive remarks to be made at her expense before she could have her own say but surprisingly, none came. Snotlout, Tuffnut, and even Hiccup were all silent and avoided her gaze. Whether it was because of her actions the previous night or for having the guts to pull such a dicey move in the arena that morning, she did not know. The others' silence gave her time to think about her response. There was a whole _list_ of things that had gone wrong in the ring that day, but not all of them needed to be addressed.

"Well to start with, I mistimed my somersault shield roll. It was sloppy." Astrid finally said after a few moments of thinking over her answer. Beside her, Ruffnut snorted out a laugh. "I think that today I relied too much on my emotions and—" She abruptly cut off.

Gobber rolled his eyes, "And?"

"And I think that Hiccup was right." The words tasted like bile in her mouth but it had to be said.

Hiccup's head shot up. "What?" He squeaked out, abandoning his usual calm façade.

After taking a deep breath, Astrid turned to face him. "You were right. What I did today in the Ring was both stupid and reckless. I got overly confident. I was too caught up in the competition. I was so caught up in wanting to win and wanting to show you all that I am capable, that I forgot the purpose of why we are being trained in the first place. Our true purpose is to learn to fight off the dragons and protect our tribe so that no one else has to lose a father, or an uncle, or _a_ _mother_ …"

Her words were not completely false. She _had_ gotten overly confident and she _had_ let her emotions get the best of her. She also did really want to win, but now she was not so sure that _killing_ was the way to do it. Gobber and the other teens would not have to know that her method of fighting off dragons in the future would be different than theirs. She was not sure she wanted to kill dragons after befriending Stormfly. It seemed wrong.

Meanwhile, Hiccup's lips were pressed into a thin line but his eyes told a different story. They shone with something akin to pride and admiration for the first time in a long time. The Hope and Heir of Berk resembled his father so much in that moment of in reserved sentiment, it brought a wry smile to her lips. A smile that Hiccup eventually returned.

Gobber cleared his throat, looking a quite taken aback by her words as well. "Aye, Astrid is right. This may be a competition between the six of ye, but the Night Fury is just an incentive. Ye cannot be forgetting the real purpose of dragon training. One day, it will be yer generation that will be responsible for the wellbeing of the tribe." He paused momentarily for dramatic measure. "With that, I will leave ye to yer meal."

The blacksmith hobbled out of the Great Hall leaving the six Viking teens in a stunned silence.

 **[1] Anyone recognize the green and orange Deadly Nadder? Fans of the TV show might! I may or may not have borrowed the wild Deadly Nadder from** _ **We Are Family Part Two**_ **, whose name according to the HTTYDwiki is "Flystorm".**

 **NOTE: Since I began writing this, I have actually watched that episode again only to realize that "Flystorm" is actually more orange and blue than green and orange. However, considering I did not realize my error until nearly eight chapters in, I am just going to leave the description as is. Heh.**

 **[2]** **Gustav Larson is a character from the TV series. He is often described as the miniature version of Snotlout.**

 **[3] I am not sure what the true distinction between male and female Nadders is in canon, but for the sake of this AU, let's pretend it is the brightness of their scales. Deadly Nadders are very bird-like and since a lot of bird's genders can be identified by the saturation of their feathers, I thought that this would make biological sense. Although usually in birds it is reversed and the males are the more colorful gender.**

 **To universally answer some questions that I have been getting:**

 **1.) Toothless' reappearance—it will not be for a few more chapters. I want to focus on Astrid/Stormfly's relationship first.**

 **2.) Although it does not seem like it now, this will eventually have plenty of hiccstrid romance. This is bit of a slow burn. They need to sort out their friendship issues first and foremost, so it's going to be several chapters down the line before we get any actual hiccstrid goodness.**

 **3.) Hiccup is going to remain a** _ **minor-ish**_ **character for a little bit longer, but he will garner a much, much larger role towards the middle of the story.**

 **4.) There will only be** **two** **chapters in the entire story that will be narrated from Hiccup's POV (both are sort of interlude chapters). The rest will be all Astrid. This is her story, so we're focusing mainly on her thoughts, feelings, interactions, etc. Besides, just like Astrid and Hiccup, I prefer the** _ **element of surprise**_ **. There are a few plots in this story that I want to remain a secret to both Astrid AND the reader until the right moment. Having another narrator in the story would spoil that!**

 **\- Mari**


	4. Chapter 4

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

Before the sun even began its daily journey across the sky, Astrid Hofferson was putting on her armor and readying her things for the day. It was _Laugardagr_ —wash day—which meant that she would not be able to sneak off into the woods that afternoon. **[1]** She would be busy with the other women of the tribe washing soiled garments, bathing in one of Berk's few freshwater springs, and listening to more gossip than she really cared to hear. Wash day was her worst nightmare and something she dreaded each week. The only bright spot was that Ruffnut hated wash day just as much as she did. The two young Vikings would likely seek out each other's company at some point during the day.

As every moment after dragon training was already accounted for, the only time Astrid had to visit Stormfly was before the day even began. That was how she found herself trudging through the forest in the foggy gray dawn with a small basket of raw fish cradled on her hip and her weapons strapped to her back. The journey to the grove took longer than it had in the past. In the dim morning light, Astrid found herself tripping over an unseen root here and an upturned rock there. She would have brought a torch, but then her hands would have been too full and she likely would have ended up dropping something. Fortunately, despite her setbacks, she managed to make it to the clearing unscathed.

Stormfly was not there when Astrid arrived, but she was not worried. The Viking whistled sharply with two fingers and then called out the dragon's new name. Within moments, a Nadder call answered. The blonde sat down on a rock and fiddled with the end of her long braid while waiting for the dragon to arrive. Stormfly's call had not sounded too far from the clearing, confirming Astrid's suspicion that Stormfly's nest was close by. The part of the forest they were in was relatively secluded and not frequented by the other villagers, which was why Astrid chose to train there in the first place. It was likely that the sounds of her axe throwing had been what initially attracted Stormfly away from her nest to observe. The dragon likely was not used to visitors encroaching on her territory.

It was still quite dark in the small grove but when the blue Nadder finally stomped through the thick brush and into the grove a few minutes later, Astrid could tell that there was no hesitation in the dragon's steps. Stormfly instantly began sniffing at her new found friend and blowing air in Astrid's face, still amused by how it ruffled her blonde hair. "Good morning to you too Stormfly! I brought you some breakfast." Stormfly visibly perked at the mention of food and tried to nose her way to the basket. Astrid rolled her eyes at the dragon's impatience and turned to rummage through the basket of fish. "Let's see, we have a couple salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, and oh! A whole smoked eel!"

She held up the speckled eel for Stormfly to see.

What she was not expecting was the panicked squawk and agitated flapping that followed.

"Stormfly, calm down! Hey! Don't point those spines at me!" Astrid screeched in alarm and reached for her shield. She did not think that Stormfly would shoot one of her tail spikes at her on purpose, but she was also not naïve enough to think that a frightened dragon could lose their sense of reason and Stormfly appeared terrified of the eel. She quickly hid the eel back in the basket, out of sight, and could not help but wonder if all dragons had such an extreme reaction to eels.

Once her hands were free from the eel, she rushed forward with her palms open in a calming gesture in attempt placate the frantic Nadder. Stormfly lowered her spines but her pupils were still warily narrowed. Astrid steadily stroked Stormfly's frontal horn and whispered soothing words to her. It took a few moments for the dragon to fully calm down. When she did, Astrid could have sworn by the bowed positioning of Stormfly's head and timid chirping, that the dragon was showing signs of remorse for her reaction. The blonde ran her hand over Stormfly's gleaming scales, once again in complete awe over her.

"You are one amazing dragon, you know that?"

Stormfly bobbed her head.

"Well, isn't someone boastful?"

An indignant squawk followed.

Reaching back into the basket, she tossed Stormfly a fresh cod which the dragon easily caught it in her mouth. Astrid reached for another fish and tossed it in the same manner. Stormfly again, caught it with ease. They continued this game, tossing and catching, until the basket was empty of all but the unmentionable eel. By that point, the sun was beginning the rise and Astrid knew she would need to return to the village soon. Her only problem was she did not know what to do with the smoked eel. She could not leave it behind, Stormfly would obviously not be happy with that. She also could not take it back to the food storage house, someone would see her and question what she was doing with it. It was while she had this dilemma that an idea struck.

It was a crazy idea.

But then again, everything she had done recently was kind of crazy.

—

Later that morning, Astrid found herself lined up with the five other Viking teens in front of the Hideous Zippleback's cage. Gobber had his hooked hand on the gate's handle, smirking at their panicky expressions. They had no weapons on them to speak of. Each teen only had a single wooden bucket filled with water. It was crazy, it was madness—it was so _Gobber_. At this point she expected nothing less from the odd blacksmith. Clutching her bucket close to her chest, she stood between a snickering Ruffnut on her left and a very nervous Fishlegs on her right. The blond boy was murmuring about the Zippleback's venomous serrated teeth under his breath, much to Hiccup's annoyance.

"Will you please stop that?!" Hiccup spat from his spot on Fishlegs' other side.

Fishlegs frowned silently in response.

"Today is an exercise on teamwork, something ye all need to work on!" Gobber deadpanned, fixing the six teens with a glare. "The Hideous Zippleback is a trickster with two heads. It is unique from other dragons. One head breathes gas and the other ignites it." There was a click of a lock and suddenly, the doors of the Zippleback cage burst open and the entire arena began to fill with greenish colored gas. Gobber continued, "Yer job is to figure out which head does what. It'll take at least two of ye so split into yer teams."

Ruffnut immediately grabbed onto Astrid's arm and began pulling her away as the noxious gas began to surround them. Unfortunately, their retreat was all but useless. No matter where they went, more gas began to pool around them. The entire arena quickly became a swirling mass of nauseating fumes. Soon, they lost sight of the others and the dragon completely. The two Viking women stood back to back, covering one another's blind spot, and frantically searching through the thick smoke-like gas for the dragon. Astrid chanced a quick glance down at her bucket and frowned. How was she supposed to put her plan into action if she could not even see?

"I think I see something." Ruffnut suddenly whispered.

Astrid looked up from her bucket, "Where?"

The female twin shuffled forward, "Just over—"

The rest of her statement was abruptly cut off as the two women suddenly found themselves completely doused in ice cold water. The shock was immediate. Astrid began to shiver as the water cut straight through the fabric of her tunic, making it stick to her body like another layer of skin. Ruffnut screamed in rage and bolted into the mist, searching out the perpetrator. Astrid followed at a much slower pace. With the thick gas obstructing most of her vision, it took her a moment to find her companion again.

Unsurprisingly, Astrid found Ruffnut rolling on the ground with her twin, exchanging punches and shouting obscenities. Snotlout stood a few feet away from the quarreling twins, looking entirely too guilty for Astrid's taste. She fixed him with a glare, almost positive that he was the one who threw the bucket of water. The stocky teen did not even notice however, he was too busy drooling over the way Ruffnut's soaked tunic clung to her chest and backside.

"What the Hel was that?" Ruffnut screeched as she delivered a swift punch to her brother's gut. "Can you not distinguish two females from a dragon?!"

"I guess your butt must be getting bigger, probably trying to accommodate for child birthing hips." Snotlout cut in smugly. He obviously meant for his statement to be flattering but it had the opposite desired effect.

Ruffnut paused in punching her brother and turned to face Snotlout, her eyes blazing and her fists clenched at her sides.

"You want to say that again?!" She hissed dangerously.

Upon seeing her fury, Snotlout nervously began to backtrack. "Not that there is anything wrong with a dragonesque fig—OW!" He did not even get the whole statement out of his mouth before Ruffnut punched him soundly in the jaw. Snotlout staggered back with a cry of pain, spitting out blood and holding his wounded jaw in his hand. It was a solid hit. By the end of the day, he would surely be sporting a nice black and blue bruise.

Astrid almost felt sorry for him.

 _Almost_.

The blonde Viking was so caught up in watching her fellow peers argue that she momentarily forgot about the two headed dragon they were supposed to be fighting against. It was only when Tuffnut was unexpectedly drug away from them by an unseen force that the teens jumped back into action, readying their guard. For a moment, they could hear the male twin's screams of alarm but then, everything went strangely silent. Astrid could clearly hear Ruffnut's breath quicken next to her and Snotlout's ragged breathing a few paces behind her. And if she listened really hard, she could hear Fishlegs and Hiccup's faint voices coming from a different part of the arena, but everything else was quiet.

Too quiet.

When Ruffnut made to run into the mist after her brother, Astrid held up a cautious hand.

"No, wait." She warned.

Something was not quite right.

It was not even a second later that Tuffnut came barreling out of the mist, running on all fours like a wild animal and screaming at the top of his lungs. He crashed right into his sister, shoving her down to the ground. The obstacle did not deter him, he crawled right over Ruffnut and sprinted away as fast as his legs could carry him. Concerned, Ruffnut scrambled back to her feet and raced after him, leaving Astrid with Snotlout. When the female twin was gone, Snotlout frowned at Astrid sourly, clearly not happy at being left alone with her.

"Get out of my way, Hofferson." He said, laying one of his beefy hands on her shoulder to shove her.

The moment that his hand touched her, anger began to rise viciously in her chest. _How dare he?!_ Words were one thing. Words she could handle. The villagers belittled her verbally all the time. Over the years, Astrid had become an expert at ignoring the townsfolk when they gossiped and made uncouth comments about her and her family's lost honor. She took their petty words with a grain of salt. Snotlout's attempt to push her aside however, caused something inside her to snap. Never before had someone actually had the nerve to physically shove her aside, as if she were nothing more than a pest.

He expected her to comply without a fight.

Well, he was wrong.

It had been thirteen years since her Uncle Finn's death, three since her father's, and the tribe's treatment of her family worsened with each passing year. She was through with letting the village walk all over her. She was through with standing back and watching them treat her and her mother with scorn and disrespect. Her name was Astrid _Hofferson_. A Hofferson never backed down from a challenge, period. It was time to start standing up for herself and her family name.

Astrid's fingers swiftly curled around the hand that Snotlout laid so brazenly on her shoulder and twisted before the boy had a chance to react. A loud snapping sound followed shortly after. Snotlout yowled in pain, stepped back away from the angry blonde and tripped over something thick, green, and scaly on the ground. He fell backwards, landing roughly on his backside with another wail of surprise. Astrid however, was not paying any mind to Snotlout's predicament as her attention was focused solely on the slithering dragon head that had appeared out of the wall of smog. Angry citrine eyes met frightened blue ones. The dragon was exotic, mostly green in color with a smattering of dark red scales around its eyes. It snaked forward towards her while showing off gleaming white teeth that protruded from the lower jaw, giving it an expression that resembled a chilling smile. Astrid backed away from the slithering creature on instinct, nearly tripping over its sly tail in the process.

"Don't worry Astrid, I got this!"

Before Astrid could even register the fact that Snotlout called her by her first name for the first time that she could _ever_ remember, the stocky teen had rushed towards the Zippleback head with his bucket raised high and tossed water on it. The dragon reared back in surprise, releasing a series of warning growls from deep in its throat. Snotlout however, did not pay attention to those growls and turned his back to the creature, giving Astrid a smug grin.

"A wet dragon can't light itself on fire!" He stated proudly.

Astrid frowned.

Surely it could not be that simple.

The Zippleback opened its mouth and released a stream of gas that surrounded Snotlout, completely saturating his person. The boy gagged as the noxious fumes assaulted his senses and gave Astrid a panicky look, a look that essentially told her that she was on her own, and scrambled to get as far away from it as possible. When he was gone, the smog began to slowly clear and Astrid found herself standing before a very, very angry dragon. Both heads of the Zippleback were now visible. The left head began to release warning sparks from its mouth but Astrid tried her best to ignore the fear blooming in her chest. If she could befriend a Deadly Nadder, then surely she could defeat this Hideous Zippleback. She held her ground instead of running as the others had. She could do this. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, her heart pounding so hard that it felt as though it would burst right out of her chest.

Her plan was stupid and maybe a little crazy, but it could work.

But then there was a commotion behind her, distracting her from her strategy. Someone was screaming her name. Astrid whirled around towards the sound. On her left, Gobber hobbled towards her. The look on his face was one she had not seen in training thus far. He looked _afraid_. He thought she was in trouble. He thought someone would have to save her— _again_. Astrid's eyes narrowed in determination. It was time to show him and everyone else that she did not _need_ saving. Acting fast, she turned back to the Zippleback and squared her shoulders. Then, without taking her eyes off the dragon before her, Astrid reached into her bucket and blindly felt around until she something wet and smooth bumped her fingers. Her hand clamped around the object and pulled it out the bucket, brandishing it to the spitting Zippleback.

At the sight of the eel in her hand, the two-headed dragon cowered away.

Astrid grinned, she had been right!

The Zippleback began to make frightened wails and flapped its large wings in frenzied manner as Astrid approached it with the eel. She kept it curled in tightly to her chest with her left hand, shielding it from the other Viking's view. All that they could see from their view behind her was that Astrid was making the Zippleback cower with only her single outstretched right palm. Astrid ignored their incredulous looks and instead focused solely on the dragon, approaching slowly and speaking words to it that the other Vikings could not hear. She covertly kept the eel in the Zippleback's line of sight until the beast unknowingly retreated back into its cell without a fight. Once the dragon was fully inside, Astrid dropped the eel back into her bucket and raced to shut the dragon cage before the Zippleback came out of its daze. Once the iron gate slammed shut, Astrid turned to see six pairs of stunned eyes gawking at her.

"So, if that's all for today I have a lot of things to get to today." Astrid said, dismissing her actions with an innocent smile. "You know, with it being _Laugardagr_ and all."

Fishlegs dropped his bucket in shock.

The others looked equally as dubious.

That was when the reality of what she had just done hit her like a ton of bricks. To her fellow Vikings, she had just single handedly beat the Hideous Zippleback without a weapon. It was…impossible. Questions would be asked, questions that she could not answer. Anxiety rose rapidly and without warning inside of her. Her heart pounded viciously. Her fingers twitched. She could not stand still. She needed to get away. She needed to think. So, she ran. No one actively tried to stop her when she jogged from the arena, but she could practically _feel_ a certain pair of eyes boring into her as she left. Astrid ran until her legs ached and her breath was all but stolen from her. Everything passed by in a blur. She ran along the path instinctively, not really seeing anything, until she was forced to stop when she ran out of land to run on.

Finally taking in her surroundings, she realized that she stood on the edge of a cliff side on the high point of the island. The Kill Ring was now far below her. If she had looked back, Astrid would have seen her instructor and four of the recruits leaving the arena in a daze. The blonde Viking however was not paying attention to what laid behind her, instead keeping her unwavering gaze locked on the open ocean before her. She let the cool salty air fill her lungs and clear her mind.

So much had happened in such a short amount of time. It was hard to process it all.

Astrid had not expected the pure fury that she felt when Snotlout tried to shove her aside. She knew she had heard a loud snap. Did the force of her twist break a bone? How was that even possible? Before, she had never been one for violence but lately she agitated easily, felt very defensive, and reacted too quickly. Just the other night, she had held a knife to _Hiccup's_ throat for Odin's sake. Astrid had stood up for herself more in the past three days than she had in her entire life. And had it really only been three days since the last raid and they started dragon training? It felt like a lifetime. So much had changed since then.

Then there was the matter of what had just happened in the training arena. Astrid's original plan had been to scare the Zippleback with the eel so that hopefully, it would listen to her and stand down from an attack. That part of the plan had gone off without a hitch. What Astrid had not planned for was an audience. She did not know how to answer the questions that she clearly saw forming in their heads. How was she supposed to explain herself? She could not tell the truth that was for sure.

She was unaware for exactly how long she stood at the edge of the cliff, breathing deeply and trying to organize her frantic thoughts. It was not until soft footsteps approached her that she snapped out of it. Once she recognized the man cautiously making his way towards her, she visibly deflated. He had not yet fully approached her but the wild russet hair was a dead giveaway.

 _Hiccup_.

She bit her lip nervously, torn between feeling elated and also annoyed to see him. Elated because he actually came after her and he actually appeared _concerned_. Annoyed because how many times had she wished for this very thing to happen? How many times after her father's death had she prayed that Hiccup would notice how much she was hurting? How many times had she wished for his sarcastic quips to make her smile or his comforting arms to hug her tightly when she felt so _alone_?

Alas those wishes and prayers had always been in vain, he never came.

The tribe had always commented on how well she took her father's death, it was perhaps the only decent comment that they ever made about her. Astrid had not publicly mourned her father's death. She had kept a brave face for her tribe to see, as she had not needed another reason for them to think she was weak. The only people who had seen through her brave façade had been her mother and shockingly, Ruffnut. Astrid had hoped that after fifteen years of friendship, Hiccup would have also seen the pain that she held so deeply inside, but he had been far too busy and distracted to pay her any more attention than was necessary.

Now Hiccup stood before her, looking entirely too unsure of himself. He was shuffling slightly, as if he was uncomfortable standing in her presence. If it were not for his large green eyes, rounded and shining with worry, Astrid would have thought he had been forced to follow her. In his hand, he held her shield and battle axe that in her haste, she had forgotten in the Kill Ring. She supposed it was plausible Gobber had asked him to go after her to return her things, but somehow she just knew he came on his own free will.

"Ah! Astrid! Hey, Astrid! Hi, Astrid!" Hiccup fumbling slightly and nearly dropped her axe.

"Be careful with that!" She spat instinctively. The last thing she needed was for Hiccup to accidentally throw her axe off the side of the cliff. It did not matter how _good_ _looking_ the chief's son was or what kind of _friendship_ they once had, she would _throttle_ him if anything happened to that axe.

"Oops! Sorry, A-Astrid!"

The brief slip of stuttering caught her off guard. For a moment, she did not see Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hope and Heir of the Hairy Hooligans. Instead she saw just Hiccup Haddock, her clumsy childhood best friend who could barely get out a sentence without tripping all over his words. It had been a long, long time since she had heard Hiccup stutter. It had been a problem for him when he was younger, but he had grown out of it with age. It was only when Hiccup was extremely flustered or nervous that the speech impediment came back.

"What are you doing here?" Astrid demanded, banishing all thoughts of their past friendship. She did not mean for the words to come out so harsh, but Hiccup flinched all the same. "If you are here to badger me about what happened in the Ring today, you can forget it, Haddock."

To her utter surprise, a soft blush crept up his cheeks and spread all the way up to the parts of his ears not covered by wild auburn hair. "Actually, that's not why I followed you. I uh, y-you left your weapons back in the Ring and I-I figured that you might be looking for them." He told her sheepishly, holding her shield out for her to take before he continued, "They seem important to you."

"You're right." Astrid replied, smiling tightly. "They are very precious to me."

"Why is that?" He asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"The shield was given to me by my father, on my fifteenth birthday. It came with a matching seax." Astrid said coolly, snatching her double-headed axe from him. She wisely bit back the angry words that if he would not have just thrown their friendship away as if it were nothing, he would have already known that.

"And your axe?" He breathed, sounding strangely choked.

Before she could answer, Hiccup took a bold step towards her and fondly traced the knotted patterns on the handle of her axe with his fingers. During his exploration, his fingers teasingly grazed hers. _What was he doing?_ Astrid's breath caught in her throat and heat pooled into her stomach. Something as innocent as a brush of a hand should not have been so pleasing, yet it was. The tiniest of smiles graced his lips and his eyes bore down into her like emerald inlayed daggers. It was as though he was trying to wordlessly convey something to her with his expectant gaze but for the life of her, she could not think of what it could be.

Then she remembered he had asked her a question and she had yet to answer.

After a few moments to gather her scattered thoughts, she finally forced out her reply. "My mother gave it to me the morning that we started dragon training. She said it would bring me good luck."

His hand abruptly dropped from the axe handle as if it burned. For a split second, he looked surprised by her answer, but then he masked it with an impassive stare that made her blood boil. It looked unnatural on him. _Her_ Hiccup was animated, so full of life, just like his mother had been. Inexpressive Hiccup reminded her too much of Stoick.

"I see. They suit you well, Astrid." He finally said, his eyes never leaving hers.

She could tell they were not the words that he truly wanted to say.

Astrid expected him to leave her then. He had already fulfilled his purpose of following her, she had her weapons back. But he stayed right where he was, just a few feet in front of her with the sea air ruffling his hair ever so slightly and brushing it into his bright eyes.

"They were obviously meticulously crafted." She eventually muttered, attempting to break the silence between them. "Never have I seen such fine metalwork and detail on an ordinary Berkian weapon. Gobber truly outdid himself."

"Gobber?" Hiccup exclaimed. She tried to answer but he continued speaking, ignoring her completely. "Y-you think Gobber forged these? Have you _seen_ Gobber's work, Astrid? Because let me tell you, I have spent the past eight years of my life working in close quarters with the guy. I will let you in on a little secret." His expression remained stony but his arms and shoulders moved in a frenzied manner as he spoke, a telltale sign that he was getting flustered. "Gobber is not one for detail, per say. As long as the weapon is sturdy, well balanced, and sharp enough to slice a dragon's head clean off, he does not care what it looks like."

She scoffed, "You sound so sure of yourself."

"Gobber did not make these." He maintained.

"Well then where do you suppose they come from then? Who else could have forged these if not Gobber?" She spat irritably. "Is he not the master blacksmith of the tribe? No one else has the skill to craft something like this!"

It was apparently the wrong thing to say. Fury rolled off of him in waves but she returned his glare with a stern look of her own. Blue eyes locked on green. He opened his mouth several times, no doubt to spout some kind of sarcastic response, but all that left his lips was a slew of unintelligent sputtering that she could not decipher. Then, all of a sudden, he turned and stormed back down the cliff side to return to the village.

When he was out of sight, Astrid let out a long rush of air. She did not know why she allowed Hiccup to get under her skin the way that he did. She should have just taken the weapons from him and told him to leave her be. But no, instead she had encouraged conversation and look where that led them? Hiccup had gotten so angry. Whatever unspoken truce they had reached the night before at náttmál was surely shattered to Hel now. She did not understand.

One minute he had been speaking candidly with her and then the next, he was defensive and angry.

What had she done? What had she said?

With one last shuddering breath of salty air, Astrid strapped her axe to her back along with her shield and slowly began to make her way down the mountain to the village. She had wasted enough time as it was. Her mother and the others were surely looking for her. The thought of spending the rest of the day listening to the gossiping matrons while they bathed and then did their washing left a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her mother would ask about dragon training and she would be forced to tell them about how she defeated both the Deadly Nadder and Hideous Zippleback. They would ask how she did it and she would not have an answer to give them. Well, at least not an answer that would not lead to more questions. Her only comforting thought was that she maybe could find time to pull Ruffnut aside to speak with her about what happened with Hiccup. Perhaps the female twin would have a hunch as to why Hiccup had reacted the way that he had.

—

The Isle of Berk was fortunate to have to have two freshwater springs relatively close to the village. The two springs were actually one large spring separated by a large natural rock formation that was nearly impossible to cross and thus, the Hooligan tribe treated them as two separate entities. One spring was used by the men, the other by the women and children. The water was warm year round and never froze, even during the deepest of snows. On _Laugardagr_ , the women of the tribe would set out towards the springs around mid-day. First, the women and children would bath in the deeper parts of the spring, then the women would move to the shallower pools to clean soiled garments and linens while the younger children played in areas where the adults could still keep an eye on them. Once clean, the garments and linens were laid out on rocks until dry. It was nearly an all-day event. **[2]**

The memories were a bit hazy, but Astrid could faintly remember a time during her very early childhood when the boys had still bathed with their mothers. After their baths, the six of them—Hiccup, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs—had all played together in the lush grasses next to the springs. Life had been simple then. They had all been friends, but that was before things like gender roles, responsibility, and family honor were thrown into the mix.

On a typical _Laugardagr_ , Astrid and her mother bathed further away from the other women of the tribe. As such, Astrid essentially had to spend the entire day with only her mother for company. The habit had started as an occasional event after her uncle's death when the stares and whispers of the other women became too much. It was not as though they were outright shunned at that point but after Finn's death, they were never included in conversation in the same that say, Geirdís and Ruffnut Thorsten were **[3]**. Even at the tender age of five. Astrid had noticed the difference in how she and her mother were treated. However, after Astrid's father's death things took a turn for the worst. Herleva and Astrid had to purposely isolate themselves during _Laugardagr_. It quickly became apparent that they were not welcomed or wanted there. Most of the women knew better than say anything in front of the two remaining Hoffersons, but there were some who made snide remarks at their backs just to spite them. Three years later and their treatment had not gotten any better. They were still excluded. The only person who even attempted conversation with them was Ruffnut, much to Geirdís' disapproval.

This Washing Day however, was turning out to be rather different. To Astrid's utter surprise, both Ruffnut and Geirdís were waiting for them at the springs. Even more surprising, they both joined the Hofferson women during their bath. Geirdís actually engaged Astrid's mother in conversation, much to Herleva's discomfort and confusion. Astrid was not complaining, however. Her mother was fully distracted and did not ask about dragon training, giving Astrid the opportunity to pull Ruffnut off to the side.

The two young women swam to a deeper part of the spring. At depth they were at, their bodies were nearly fully submerged but they could still touch the bottom. Only their shoulders and faces remained above the water.

"I saw that Hiccup followed you when you ran off this morning." Ruffnut giggled, getting straight to the point when they were out of earshot. "I assume that is what you are so eager to speak with me about?"

Astrid groaned, "You saw?"

"We _all_ saw. You were barely under the gate when he snapped into action, grabbed your weapons, and chased after you. I _told_ you that Hiccup notices more than what you think." Ruffnut jabbed, splashing her friend with the warm spring water. Astrid sputtered as the water got in her nose and eyes. "So what happened? Anything good?" The other girl winked suggestively.

"He brought me my weapons and returned them."

"But that is not all, is it?"

Astrid ran her wet hands over her face, unsure of how to put what had happened between them into words. She did not know why, but the moment that she and Hiccup had shared on the cliff while speaking of her axe felt private even though nothing had happened. Nothing like what Ruffnut was suggesting anyway.

"He mentioned that he thought that the weapons were important to me to which I responded that he was right, they are very precious to me. He asked why and I told him that they are a set. I told him that the shield and a small seax were given to me by my father on my fifteenth birthday. Then—" Astrid paused, remembering the hopeful way he had asked about her axe, as if her answer was important in some way. "Then he asked me about my axe."

"And?" Ruffnut asked impatiently, forcing Astrid to look her in the eye.

Her voice dropped to a whisper, almost as if she was afraid of someone overhearing. "He stepped close to me and ran his fingers down the engravings on my axe handle. He—his fingers brushed my hand and then he just gave me this _look_. Gods, it was so confusing!" Astrid cried, unloading all of her muddled thoughts on the other blonde. "He has never looked at me the way he looked at me then. The look he gave me was very intense and very much focused, but not angry. I just can't explain it."

Ruffnut squealed and Astrid had to shush her so not to attract the attention of their mothers.

"Did he kiss you?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Astrid exclaimed, her face twisting in horror.

Inwardly however, her traitorous heart fluttered at the thought. What would it be like to _kiss_ Hiccup Haddock? It had crossed her mind before…briefly, of course…but she never could come up with a good answer. It would be strange, they had been best friends after all. Yet, there was something so appealing about the thought of his lips claiming hers, his hands tantalizingly grazing her waist, her own fingers tangling in those silky auburn locks or running along that firm jawline—

"It sounds to me that he was giving you the look that said _he_ wanted to kiss _you_." The tall blonde teased, flicking more water at Astrid and consequently breaking her out of her passionate daydream.

Astrid splashed back, completely drenching Ruffnut. Then, something in Ruffnut's statement clicked in her mind and she narrowed her eyes dangerously, "And how would you know the expression one wears when they want to kiss you, hmm?" Ruffnut blushed and Astrid gasped dramatically. "When did this happen?! Was it Fishlegs? Please tell me it was Fishlegs and not Snotlout! I might hurl right here in the spring if you tell me that you kissed Snotlout." Her tongue lolled out of her mouth in disgust.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes and huffed, "Of course it was Fishlegs! Just _don't_ say anything to anyone."

"Who am I going to tell?" Astrid deadpanned.

"I know but still, I have to be careful." She glanced over her shoulder at where Geirdís and Herleva were still bathing. "My mother…"

The other girl did not even have to finish her statement.

Astrid knew.

She truly did feel sorry for her friend. Marriage and relationships were a messy topic for Ruffnut. Geirdís did not exactly approve of Ruffnut's attraction to Fishlegs. It had nothing to do with Fishlegs himself per say, but rather that the Ingerman family was not as wealthy and politically powerful as the Jorgenson family. Geirdís wanted what was best for her only daughter but Ruffnut was not interested in an advantageous marriage. It was times like this that Astrid was glad that although she was eighteen, she had yet to deal with suitors, marriage, and contracts. It all seemed like such a hassle.

Ruffnut managed a shaky smile and continued her story. "It happened yesterday. I offered to help him put salve on the burns that he got from the Nadder and it just sort of…happened! He just gave me this look and I-I just knew what he was asking me. He was asking if it was okay and I just, I went for it. I grabbed him by the back of his neck and kissed him right there in the middle of Gothi's hut." She blurted out, then submerged under the spring water to hide her face from Astrid.

"What?! You did not!" Astrid's eyes bulged and she clamped her hands over her mouth until Ruffnut resurfaced. "Did Gothi see?"

"No! She was in another room!" Ruffnut then sighed and it sounded dreamy, rather uncharacteristic for her. "It was, it was really weird at first. I had no idea what I was doing. I just sat there with my face glued to his, but then he actually took control and it was really nice." She then shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts. "Nice try at avoiding the subject by bringing up Fishlegs but you never did finish your story. If Hiccup didn't kiss you, then what happened?"

Astrid took a deep breath. There was no avoiding it now. "I told him that my mother gave me my axe the morning that we started dragon training because she thought it would give me good luck. Then, things got weird. He acted like my answer was not the one he had been expecting. He went into junior-chief mode—you know how he gets when he is around his father?"

The other girl snorted at the term, "If you mean he starts acting like a miniature version of Stoick then yes, I know exactly what you mean."

"I started babbling about how finely crafted the set is, how Gobber did such an incredible job, and Hiccup just snapped. He insisted that Gobber did not forge them. He was so snarky about it too! He said he has had _eight years to learn Gobber's techniques_ and that _an eye for detail is not one of Gobber's strong points_. Then when I asked who else could have crafted them if not the master blacksmith, he just stormed off." Astrid finished her story with a frown and her eyes remained stubbornly on the spring water pooling around her chest. When she finally looked up, Ruffnut had an odd look on her face. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Astrid demanded.

"I thought you were supposed to be smart!" Ruffnut quipped.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

" _Who else but the master blacksmith could have forged your weapons_?" Ruffnut mocked, reaching up and tapping Astrid's skull with her knuckles. "Who has spent eight years apprenticing under the master blacksmith? Who spends every waking moment that is not spent training working in the forge? I mean, have you seen Hiccup's work? He forged both his shield and his sword himself. The shield is an absolute wicked work of art! It can shoot out a grappling hook and can turn into a crossbow— _a crossbow_! Did you know that?"

Astrid shook her head, completely stunned by her friend's implication.

She did not want to believe it, but it made sense.

"The knots…" She whispered in realization.

The knotted pattern on his shield had seemed familiar because it was the exact pattern that was carved into her own shield! The only difference was that his had more uses and working parts, but hers was more intricately designed and executed, perhaps forged more recently than his own set. How had she not seen it before? It seemed so obvious now that Ruffnut pointed it out. Who else would have known her size and capabilities enough three years ago to forge her the perfect set of weapons?

Hiccup. Not Gobber.

Only Hiccup had known her that well.

Her friendship with Hiccup had started to fall apart when they were fourteen, maybe even as early as thirteen. If she were perfectly honest with herself, Astrid could not remember exactly when things began to deteriorate between them. It happened slowly, so slowly in fact that she did not realize it until it was too late. Hiccup had become so busy with his apprenticeship and lessons from his father that he rarely had time for anything else. For a while she had made a point to visit him in the forge everyday but she put a stop to that when he began to act annoyed by her visits. They would then occasionally run into each other, in the Great Hall or various places in the village, but those meetings were nothing but awkward and jilted. Hiccup always acted as though he had somewhere better to be, someone more important to talk to. Excuse after excuse he gave her until he started to avoid her altogether. Once he started to avoid her, she had believed he had no longer noticed her, no longer thought of her. She had been wrong.

Her weapons were the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her. Hiccup knew how much she wanted to become a warrior, to prove herself to the tribe. He had encouraged her when they were young and did not even realize that effect that his words had on her. He had said, " _I believe that you will become a great warrior. You have the spirit of a Valkyrie within you. They will call you Fearless Astrid Hofferson, the fiercest and most lovely shield maiden to ever grace Midgard_." Then, when he was older and able, he had given her the tools to achieve it. The intense gaze that he had given her on the cliff suddenly made sense. He was telling her that he had not forgotten her, that he had _always_ thought of her even when she did not think he was looking.

The weapons had been precious to her before, they had been a gift from her father and they were practically all that she had left of him. Her father had wanted her to use them to become a great warrior, a goal which she strived towards every day, even more so now that she had begun dragon training. Yet, knowing that Hiccup had likely spent countless hours designing, forging, and detailing them meant more to her than she could ever put into words. They were more than precious, they were beyond invaluable. Her heart swelled with affection for her childhood friend. She wanted to thank him, wanted to tell him how much his hard work meant to her.

But then she remembered Hiccup's face earlier that morning when he left her on the cliff side.

The elated feeling that had been rising within her chest abruptly burst. Astrid understood his anger now. The answer had been obvious. It had been _standing_ right in front of her! By pure ignorance she had overlooked him. She had all but thrown all his hard work back in his face by suggesting no other person on Berk but the master blacksmith could craft such fine weaponry. He had every right to be offended by such a comment. She knew she would have to apologize. She sent a small prayer to Gods that he would accept said apology.

"I-I am an idiot." Astrid finally muttered, pressing her fists to her eyes.

A hand softly fell on her shoulder, "Not an idiot, just naïve."

"Should I talk to him?"

"Eventually yes, but give him some time to cool down first." Ruffnut advised. "Maybe try tomorrow after dragon training?"

Astrid sighed, "Maybe."

* * *

 **[1]** _ **Laugardagr**_ **, also known as Washing Day, is the day of the week equivalent to Saturday in Norse culture.**

 **[2] This may or may not be an accurate depiction of how Vikings spent Washing Day. I found very little information about Vikings and their version of Washing Day other than they were often criticized for being "too clean." Some of the Anglo-Saxon's only bathed a few times a year. To them, bathing once a week as the Vikings did was outrageous. So, since I did not find any real useful information, I am basing my description of Berk's Washing Day off of medieval European traditions and "riverside washing."**

 **[3] Ruffnut's mother's name "** _ **Geirdís**_ **" means "** _ **spear goddess/priestess/female guardian spirit**_ **" in Old Norse. I thought it was appropriate as Ruffnut and Tuffnut are seen using spears as their chosen weapon in the first movie.**

* * *

 **So how did you guys like the teaser? I had one reviewer who had their PM feature disabled (** _ **Rena icecreamshop**_ **) so I did not have a way to send the teaser and I do not want you to think I forgot about you! ;) Like I said in my author's note for the last chapter, I am not sure I want to make a habit out of sending teasers out for every chapter. I feel as though I am bribing you guys for reviews if I do that and that makes me feel kind of bad. But, let me know what you think. I am kind of open — if you want teasers for future chapters I am all for it. If not, that's fine too!**

 **But now you know what the teaser was leading to! A full scene between Hiccup and Astrid, alone. Maybe some suggestive behavior? You be the judge. Most of you guessed early on that Hiccup made Astrid's axe. I was trying to keep that a surprise but since I know that plot line has been done many times, I bet you were all expecting it. Still, Hiccup's behavior when he is speaking with Astrid about how and why she acquired it was purposely left open ended. Any ideas why he would react so strangely to seeing the axe aside from the fact that he made it for her? ;)**

 **While writing the scene at the springs between Ruffnut and Astrid, I just kept picturing** _ **Pride & Prejudice**_ **in my mind the entire time and I really don't know why. It was kind of fun to write Astrid and Ruffnut having a "girly" moment. We do not see many of those from Astrid in the franchise, but some of her "girlier" reactions in** _ **Gift of the Night Fury**_ **inspired her reactions in the scene I wrote. It was just too fun to pass up. For those of you who have not seen** _ **Pride & Prejudice**_ **(starring Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen) I** **highly** **recommend it. It is one of my all time favorite movies and the most simplistically beautiful love story that I have ever seen. To those of you who have seen it, I may or may not have garnered some inspiration for Hiccup and Astrid's relationship in** _ **Drengskapr**_ **from Mr. Darcy's attitude towards Elizabeth. You can make of that what you will. ;)**

 **Also, please excuse my sad attempt at making cover art. I did a quick ten minute colored pencil drawing of H/A, scanned it into Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator and did some super quick editing. I'll admit, illustration is not my strong point. I'll try and make a better one eventually.**

 **Finally, the response I received for the last chapter completely blew me away! You guys are freakin' amazing and I am so incredibly happy that you guys love this story! I hope you have enjoyed the fourth installment of this AU! Leave me your thoughts! :)**

 **Happy New Year!**

— **Mari**


	5. Chapter 5

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Chapter Five**

Days passed.

Over the next week, Astrid found herself settling into a routine. In the morning, dragon training. After dragon training, chores. Then she would sneak off into the woods to practice with her axe and visit with Stormfly. Her time spent with Stormfly was undoubtedly what she looked forward to the most each day. The first day, the Nadder had been extremely wary of Astrid's axe, but once Stormfly realized that the Viking was aiming at the tree and had no intentions of turning it on her, she relaxed. It took a few more days but once Stormfly was completely desensitized to the axe, she began to automatically retrieve the axe and brought it back to Astrid each time it was thrown. With the Nadder's assistance, Astrid's axe throwing became more efficient. She spent less time trekking back and forth and more time focusing on her stance and technique. Thus, her aim slowly improved each day.

Occasionally, Astrid would take breaks from axe throwing and simply play games with her curious new friend. After learning that Stormfly liked to chase things, the young Viking taught her to fetch everyday items, such as her shield, when thrown. They also played Hide and Seek, which Stormfly was indefinitely better at than Astrid. The blonde could only guess that Stormfly's acute sense of smell aided her because she was able to find Astrid within a few minutes, every time. Aside from her superior sense of smell, the blue Nadder was also quite agile and could sneak quietly upon Astrid when she wanted to. The more time that Astrid spent with Stormfly, the more conflict she began to feel about dragon training. As much as she wanted to prove her worth, killing a dragon was not on her top list of things to do anymore. It was getting harder and harder to hide that from the others.

After the Zippleback fiasco, Astrid tried to stay more to the background so that she did not attract attention to herself. The post-training meeting at náttmál on _Laugardagr_ had been a disaster. Gobber had asked so many questions that Astrid simply did not have, or rather would not give, the answers to. She never told them about the eel. How was she supposed to explain how she knew dragons hated eels without giving Stormfly away? How was she even supposed to explain why she had an eel on her person in the first place? It was impossible. In the end, she stated that she had went off instinct alone and that she really was not sure why it worked. She could tell that the blacksmith and her peers did not truly buy her story, but they eventually let it go. Still, it had been way too close of a call and as such, she made sure to be extra careful afterwards.

Gobber would constantly yell for her to participate more but she ignored him, choosing to stay back and observe rather than fight. She only chose to intervene when absolutely necessary—such as when the Gronckle nearly crushed Ruffnut with its tail all because the other girl was too busy arguing with her twin to pay attention to her surroundings. Astrid had quickly stepped in, scratching just below the dragon's chin in a way that she had learned would placate Stormfly. The Gronckle had promptly collapsed to the arena floor with a content groan just as Hiccup came charging at it with his sword. The look he shot her after that incident had been murderous.

Speaking of the tribe's heir, Astrid was never able to apologize to him, not that she had not tried. She had approached him the day after their argument and was fully prepared to grovel for insulting his forging abilities, but Hiccup had all but rebuffed her attempts to speak with him then. He had not been terribly rude to her. He had not made any hurtful comments or even glared at her. In a way, what Hiccup did was even worse. He had simply brushed passed her, ignoring her completely. That had hurt more than any vocal insult ever would.

After that, it was nearly impossible to get him alone. Snotlout seemed to flank Hiccup wherever he went. As the topic of conversation was private and very personal, it was not something that she wanted to bring up in front of the others, _especially_ Snotlout. After a few days, Astrid gave up trying to apologize altogether, much to Ruffnut's opposition. It led to a few squabbles between the two blondes. Ruffnut did not think she should give up so easily. Astrid thought that if Hiccup chose to be stubborn, then she could be too.

She was a _Hofferson_ after all.

—

She was late.

Again.

A game of hide and seek with Stormfly lasted much longer than she originally planned. Astrid entered the Great Hall, expecting yet another lecture from Gobber, only to find that their usual table was strangely empty. After asking a few of the villagers, all who gave her the stink-eye for interrupting their meals, she finally found out that Gobber had taken the others on some 'team-bonding' excursion. It took her the better part of the evening to find them, but Astrid eventually caught sight of a fire up on the cliff side above the Kill Ring. Coincidentally, it was near the very spot where she and Hiccup had gotten into their argument. The thought made her pause. For a moment, she considered skipping the meeting altogether but then thought better of it. She would never hear the end of it from Gobber if she skipped the excursion completely.

" _Better late than never_!" He would say.

As she approached, she heard Gobber telling the teens the story of how he lost his limbs. Astrid purposely ignored the pointed stare that he shot her for interrupting his tale when she arrived, focusing instead on finding a place to sit. To her dismay, there was only one spot available in their tiny circle to sit and it _conveniently_ happened to be between Ruffnut and Hiccup. Judging by the sly grin on Ruffnut's face, the gap had been left on purpose. Astrid shot her friend a withering glare and plopped down between the blonde and the red-head, deliberately sitting as close to Ruffnut as possible.

The fire blazed in the pit, spreading warmth to the seven individuals huddled around it. It was not terribly cold. It technically was still the summer months after all, but winter was quickly approaching and the air at night was beginning to turn cool. The others were all roasting chicken over the open flames but Astrid was not hungry. She was too nervous to eat. This was the first time she had been so close to Hiccup since their argument and unfortunately, he seemed determined to pretend like he was not even there—if his refusal to acknowledge her was anything to go by. Astrid leaned closer to the fire in the pretense of warming her hands.

Beside her, Ruffnut was just barely containing her laughter. The other blonde was able to see right through the 'hand-warming' ploy. She knew exactly what was causing her friend so much discomfort.

"—and with one twist, he clamped down on my hand, and swallowed it whole! I saw the look on its face, I was delicious. The Nightmare must have passed the word around because not even a month later, another one took my leg!" Gobber cried, always was one for dramatics.

"How do you know it was not the same dragon?" Hiccup quipped with a tiny smirk on his face. "Maybe he came back for more."

Gobber's mouth opened to retort, then promptly clamped shut again. Clearly, that had never crossed his mind.

"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside of a dragon?" Fishlegs asked, a look of contemplation on his face. "I mean, if your mind was still in control of it, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by like…crushing its heart or something."

Ruffnut turned to look at the boy beside her with wide eyes, "That's so _morbid_ —I like that." She murmured suggestively.

A bright red blush crept onto Fishlegs' cheeks when he caught on to her insinuation.

Astrid faked a gag.

Snotlout watched the exchange between Ruffnut and Fishlegs with narrowed eyes. Astrid half expected him to insult Fishlegs or at least make a pass at Ruffnut but instead he turned to Gobber, "I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot! I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight—with my face!"

Beside him, Hiccup ran his hands over his own face. "And how do you suppose that works, Snot?" He asked sarcastically, his words slightly muffled by his hands. "How exactly does one chop off something with their face?"

"I—you—UGH!" Snotlout howled, glaring at his cousin. "I don't know Hiccup, _you're_ the smart one! You figure it out!"

"Ye've got it all wrong anyway!" Gobber interrupted. "It's the wings and the tails that you really want. If it cannot fly, it cannot get away. Think about that, aye? A downed dragon, is a dead dragon." The blacksmith yawned loudly, "Well, I'm off to bed. Rest up! We are slowly but surely making our way up to the Night Fury, but who will win the honor of killing it?" He asked shrewdly.

"It will be me. It's my destiny. See?"

"What?! Your mother actually let you get a tattoo?"

"It's not a tattoo. It's a birthmark!"

"Really, Tuff? Because I'm actually really, pretty sure that that's black ink."

"Oh ho, so now you're ruling over his life too!"

"I have been stuck with you since birth, idiot. _That_ was never there before."

"Yes, it was! You have just never seen me from the left side until now."

"It was just an observation!"

"Who gave you the right to boss us around, _Hic_?!"

"He's the son of the chief, _Snot_ —"

"Yeah? Well, who made Stoick chief?!"

The rest of the ridiculous conversation faded into background noise. Astrid was no longer listening. There was something about Gobber's last statement that forced a memory to surface.

 _The beast trapped within the nets suddenly began to move and released out a pitiful moan of pain. Instantly, several Vikings sprang into action, tightening the nets and enclosing a muzzle around the dragon's maw. Astrid cringed at the wretched sound. With a quick glance at her fellow peers, she seemed to be the only one affected by the dragon's cries. It was obviously hurt and despite the fact is was practically in her very nature to hate dragons, Astrid could not help but feel sorry for the distressed creature. She scanned the expanse of its body for signs of injury and was alarmed when its eyes opened, revealing a pair of bright green irises that were a shockingly similar shade to a certain russet haired Viking. Her heart clenched painfully inside her chest. Oblivious of her own actions, Astrid shuffled forward, leaving behind the other teens and hesitantly approached the downed dragon._

Astrid had not seen anything for sure that night, but she was sure that the Night Fury had been wounded when Hiccup and his father shot it down. That had been nearly a week ago. There was no doubt in her mind that the Vikings would not have checked the dragon over for injuries, not that they would have cared if there were any. If the wound had not been cleaned and allowed to fester—she choked back a gag, a real one this time. Infection was highly possible at this point. The winner of dragon training would be fighting a wounded and sick dragon, somehow that just did not sit right in her stomach.

It just did not seem _fair_.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was on her feet. She only faintly registered Ruffnut calling out her name and the incredulous looks the other recruits gave her. Astrid raced down the side of the mountain, only stopping once the Kill Ring was fully in sight. Away from the fire, the cool night air sliced through her clothing. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, shivering violently as her thoughts raced. Maybe it was her friendship with Stormfly that made her biased or perhaps it was the fact that the Night Fury's eyes had looked so much like the young man's who had sat next to her that evening, but either way Astrid felt as though she needed to do _something_. Her heart filled with a sudden yet fierce desperation. She needed to help the creature.

The young Viking silently crept around the main gate Kill Ring to observe it up close. The mechanisms seemed easy enough to work. The dragon cages did not have typical locks, but rather levers that were activated from the outside. Surely, it would not be hard to break into the arena later that evening once everyone was asleep. If there was one thing that Astrid Hofferson was good at, it was sneaking around. It was something that both she and Hiccup had mastered at an early age. It had gotten them out of many sticky situations in their younger years.

A plan began to formulate in her head. She would return in the wee hours of the morning with a basket of fish to check on the Night Fury. Not only would the food serve as a peace offering, but the dragon was likely starving. Astrid could kill two birds with one stone and hopefully gain the Night Fury's trust enough to let her examine it. Satisfied with her plan, Astrid snuck away from the Kill Ring and continued down into the village, unaware of the curious pair of eyes that watched from afar.

—

That night, she snuck out of her window for the first time since she was thirteen.

After much debate, Astrid decided against bringing her shield and axe to the arena with her, instead settling for tucking her smaller seax into her belt along with a piece of flint just in case she needed a torch. Leaving her shied and axe behind was a risky maneuver but it was one that she knew that had to take. Not only did she want to appear non-threatening to the Night Fury, but she needed to travel light if she was going to lug a whole basket of fish with her. She could only carry so much at one time and multiple trips were out of the question. Everything needed to be done quickly and efficiently.

Smuggling the basket of the fish out of the food storage house turned out to be an interesting experience. Ever accident prone, she nearly knocked over a rack of salted fish jerky while trying to lug out a basket of raw fish. Astrid was afraid that the noise would attract attention but fortunately, no one ever came to investigate. After cleaning up the mess, she began to heave the basket as quietly as she could to the far side of the village.

Her footsteps were light as she crept through the town square, calling upon years of sneaking around with Hiccup during her childhood. As she passed the forge however, Astrid froze when she noticed a light on in the back room. When he first began his apprenticeship with Gobber, the back room had been designated as Hiccup's personal storage space and Astrid had no doubt that the room was still used as such. If the light was on, that meant that he was still awake and in the forge. Her heart began to pound dangerously in her chest. The brazen part of her realized that it would be the perfect opportunity to get him alone, to corner him and force him to listen to her apology. The sensible and more stubborn part of her knew though that she needed to stick to her plan of action. Her apology could wait for another day. The Night Fury was more important. With a last fleeting look at the forge, Astrid continued to the Kill Ring with no other distractions or incidents.

As she expected, it was rather easy to sneak into the Kill Ring. Before she knew it, she stood in the empty arena in front of the Night Fury's cage. The basket of fish was left in the open for the dragon to see while Astrid moved to the side to crank open the initial solid gate. The gate made a creaking sound as it opened and she cringed, hoping that it was not nearly as loud as she thought it was. No movement or sound came from inside the cell. In fact, the cage appeared empty but she knew better than to assume such a thing. The Night Fury was a creature _made_ to blend into darkness. If her memory served her well, it had scales that were the blackest of blacks. Seeing as the light of the moon could not reach the inside of the cage, the dragon was camouflaged in the darkness.

Astrid was suddenly glad that she had thought to tuck a piece of flint into her belt. All it took was a quick spark and suddenly, the Night Fury's cage was bathed in fiery light. The Viking had expected the dragon to be curled up in the back of the cage but instead, the elusive creature hung upside down from the rafters of the ceiling. It peaked a single chartreuse colored eye open when the light of Astrid's torch illuminated it but did not make any move further. Thankful that it did not seem to view her as a threat, she ran an examining eye over the dragon before her, checking it over for injuries as well as she could through the gridded gate. During her inspection, the dragon closed its eyes again.

For a moment, she almost believed that the dragon had come out of the attack unscathed but then she caught sight of its tailfin—or rather what was left of it. The left side was completely torn off, leaving only the right half behind. Fortunately, there was no sign of infection. The dragon appeared to have cleaned the laceration and new scales were slowly beginning to patch over it. Seeing this, she breathed a sigh of relief. That was one thing down.

Keeping her movements slow, Astrid pushed back the lid on the basket with the hand not holding the torch and wrapped her fingers around a large, fat cod. "I brought you some fish." She murmured softly, holding the fish up for the Night Fury to see. It peeked one eye open again with interest, a small victory. She tried again, "I bet you are hungry, aren't you? I'm sure you aren't being fed very well."

The dragon slowly slid from its perch and approached the barred gate with obvious hesitance, its lips pulled back in a warning snarl.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." She whispered, showing the dragon the peace offering once more. "I just want to feed you."

Bright green eyes slid from the cod held in her hands to her belt, then back to the fish. Astrid frowned, unsure as to what exactly it was looking at. The dragon looked pointedly at her belt again. It took her a few moments to realize that somehow, it had noticed the seax tucked into her belt. Once again, she was struck by just how intelligent the beasts that she had been taught to hate could be. The dragon would not take the fish from her while she was armed. Carefully, Astrid put her hand on the handle of the seax and the dragon snarled, backing further into its cage. A series of calming cooing sounds left her lips as she plucked the seax from her belt and tossed it out of sight. As soon as the seax was gone, the Night Fury's growls ceased. It approached the gate once more, sniffing nosily at the food. The dragon did not trust her but its curiosity got the better of it.

Astrid slid the cod through the crude slits of the gate, mindful to keep her fingers far from the Night Fury's fangs. The dragon tore the fish from her hand as soon as it was slid through the gate and swallowed it whole, not even bothering to chew. The next seven fish that she slid through the gate were eaten in the same frantic fashion. Astrid frowned, realizing that her other fear was correct. The dragons were not being fed, at least not adequately. It explained why the arena dragon's behavior was so drastically different from Stormfly's. They were caged and hungry wild animals and as such, they were bound to be much more aggressive, especially towards their captors. She abruptly stopped feeding the Night Fury, much to its irritation, and looked down at the quickly empting basket of fish. The other dragons had to be starving as well but she could not risk going back for a second bin.

"I'm sorry," And she truly was. Astrid could imagine the hunger and pain the Night Fury was in, not to mention how scared and confused it was. "But you have to share for now. I'll bring more tomorrow, I promise."

The pitiful warble that left the Night Fury's mouth when she lowered the solid rock gate back into place, nearly broke her.

It was a long, delicate process feeding the other dragons. The bright red Monstrous Nightmare was no doubt the most temperamental, it nearly blasted her with a stream of fire the moment that she opened the rock gate. The Terrible Terror hissed indignantly at her for a straight ten minutes before she could even get it to come up to the gate. The Gronckle and Zippleback took quite a bit of convincing as well. The dragons all clearly recognized her from training and were not exactly thrilled to see her, with the exception of the green Nadder. Astrid had not seen earth colored dragon since the second exercise when she had defeated it with Hiccup's shield. She expected the dragon to have not forgotten that betrayal and consequently saved it for last. As such, disbelief gripped her to the core when the Nadder not only chirped happily, but rushed to the gate when it saw her.

"Well, hello to you too!" She giggled breathlessly. "Are you hungry?"

The Nadder bobbed its head in agreement and unlike the other arena dragons, promptly stuck its beak through the gate as best as it could in anticipation of food. She did not have much fish left, the other dragons had all indeed been quite hungry, but there was enough to hopefully satisfy the dragon until its next feeding, whenever that was. A pang of guilt hit her as she watched the Nadder accept the fish she offered with the same desperation as the other dragons before it. They were _starving_ and beneath all the rage, they were _afraid_.

"We Vikings say that you guys are the monsters, but I do not necessarily believe that to be true now." Astrid murmured to the Nadder miserably. "I do not know what to think anymore."

—

Astrid could feel the exhaustion deep in her bones when she trudged to the Kill Ring the next morning.

After she finished feeding the green Nadder, the young Viking had disposed of the smuggled fish basket and snuck back to her house for a few precious hours of sleep. It felt as though she had only just shut her eyes when her mother was standing over her shaking her awake again. Astrid almost considered faking illness but then thought better of it. Her mother would see right through the lie. Eel pox **[1]** season had long since passed and it was rare for Vikings to fall ill so late in the summer months. Calling upon every ounce of strength she could muster, she groggily put on her armor and strapped her weapons to her back before heading off to the arena.

Ruffnut was immediately at her side the moment that she walked under the gate, "Are you alright? What happened last night?" She probed. "One minute you were fine and then the next thing we all knew, you were up and running."

She had really hoped that her sudden disappearance would have gone unnoticed but clearly Astrid had no such luck. "I just needed to get away." It was not a lie, Ruffnut just did not need to know _why_ she needed to get away.

"He still has not let you apologize, has he?" The female twin asked quietly.

Of course Ruffnut would think she was talking about getting away from _Hiccup_. She supposed it was a worked well enough excuse. Playing along, she shook her head. "No, he has not."

"For the love of Thor, why are boys so yak-headed?!"

At that exact moment, Hiccup and Snotlout walked into the arena and Ruffnut shot the chief's son the foulest glare that she could muster, much to his confusion. Astrid covered her mouth with her hand to hide the smile that was fighting to break through.

"You do not have to be so hard on him, Ruff." Astrid replied, surprised by the honesty of her words. She really did not want Ruffnut to make a big deal out of it. It truly was not necessary. "He might have been avoiding me in the beginning but lately we have not even had the chance to talk."

"I just do not _get_ him! He tries to save you and then leaves you, ignores you, then flirts with you, gets mad at you for insulting him, and although he is supposedly mad at you, he still races after you the moment that you show the first signs of distress—"

Astrid's eyes widened in alarm, "He what?!"

"Hiccup went after you when you ran off last night." Ruffnut explained, looking confused as if she thought Astrid already knew. "Brought up some lame excuse about working in the forge. Tried to be all discrete about it, but it didn't fool me." She seemed quite proud of that fact and was completely oblivious on how Astrid's face was quickly loosing color. "He got all fidgety the moment you left. You know how he gets."

Meanwhile, Astrid was in the midst of a mild anxiety attack.

If Hiccup had followed her, had he seen her scoping out the Kill Ring? It no doubt would have looked extremely suspicious. Was that why he had been in the forge so late? Had he been spying on her then too? What if he saw her feeding the dragons? Horrible scenarios of what _could_ happen quickly spiraled out of control. Her life would be over. Hiccup would turn her into his father and she would be labeled a traitor of Berk. She would pray that Stoick would be merciful, exiling her instead of condemning her to death or leaving her to rot in Berk's dungeon.

But when she finally rallied the courage to glance over at the chief's son, he was not regarding her with any sort of suspicion or anger. In fact, he studiously ignored her as per what had become normal. Astrid breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps she was overreacting. There was a chance that he had not even seen anything.

"Astrid! Ruffnut! Stop yer gossiping and get over here!"

She had never been more thankful for Gobber to deliver a distraction before.

Ruffnut however, shot her a look that said that the conversation was far from over. The two females quickly fell into line with the males and awaited further instructions. According to Gobber, they were going to be training with the Terrible Terror again. Astrid fought back a smile. Although the light blue and magenta Terrible Terror had spent ten straight minutes hissing at her the previous night, she had eventually convinced it to calm down. **[2]** Turns out, once it had some food in its belly, the Terror was actually a sweet little creature and reminded Astrid of a small house pet rather than a level twelve firepower dragon.

With a flick of a lever, the gates of the Terrible Terror's gate rose and a small, blue blur shot out of the dark cell. All the teens, save Astrid, immediately broke into action. The other recruits readied their shields to protect them from the Terror's firepower. Astrid however, kept hers strapped to her back. In fact, she did not pull out any of her weapons. Something told her that she might not need them right away, if at all. The teens formed a loose circle, all on alert. For several tense moments, no one moved a muscle because the Terror just disappeared. Astrid's astute eyes scanned the arena for any sign of the tiny creature but ultimately came up empty.

"Huh, where did it go?" Snotlout asked, scratching his chin.

Suddenly a blue blur broke their circle and clamped down onto Tuffnut's nose. "AH! Getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!" He screamed, wailing and flailing his arms while the small blue dragon remained attached to his nose.

Ruffnut impulsively grabbed onto the Terror's tail and pulled, attempting to free her brother's nose. The blue dragon let go, only to turn and bite down on the female twin's nose instead. Astrid cringed as Ruffnut released a high pitched screech that nearly rivaled a Night Fury in terms of tone. Tuffnut merely rubbed his nose and laughed, too busy enjoying his sister's pain to help her. After a few moments, the Terror grew annoyed with Ruffnut's screeches and flew over to Fishlegs, clamping onto his leg. If possible, the blond had an even _louder_ scream than Ruffnut. Astrid rolled her eyes as Hiccup and Snotlout fought to remove the Terror from the frantic blond's leg. However, just as when Ruffnut tried to help Tuffnut, the dragon turned and bit down onto Snotlout's neck. Astrid took a step back from the chaotic circle, having finally realized the creature's game. It was toying with them.

"What a clever little thing." She muttered under her breath.

At last, Snotlout flung the dragon around long and hard enough that it let go. The momentum of Snotlout's swinging however, caused the creature to roll over to her feet. Astrid flinched, expecting pain, but calm pale yellow eyes locked onto cautious blue. The dragon merely snorted at her before scurrying over to its next victim. Unfortunately, its next victim was Hiccup who was too busy staring at Astrid incredulously to notice that he was a target. The Terror took advantage of his distraction and swiftly crawled up his pant leg, over his shoulders, and buried its muzzle down into Hiccup's unruly russet locks before he could do anything about it.

For his part, Hiccup managed to not even release the tiniest of whimpers.

But judging by the way that his green eyes began to water, Astrid knew that it _had_ to hurt.

The twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs exchanged wary glances. Clearly they wanted to help, but they had caught onto the creature's game as well. They slowly began to back away, not wanting to risk upsetting the dragon any more than what it already was. Only Astrid remained and she was wary to intervene as well, but for an entirely different reason. Seeing that that the other recruits were not going to be of any help, Hiccup narrowed his eyes and drew his sword, seemingly prepared to gut the creature if that is what it took to get it out of his hair— _literally_.

Human and dragon began to struggle.

When the Terror let go of his hair and scurried around his feet, Hiccup swung. However, when the Terror saw this, it sneakily disappeared for a few moments before reappearing on Hiccup's head without warning. It was toying with him. With the dragon's awkward positioning, Hiccup could not get a good aim that would not injure himself in the process. When he fumbled and his sword accidentally swiped his arm, Astrid's hand twitched to her belt where her seax rested. Hiccup swung his sword again, this time almost catching the teal dragon's tail. Astrid began to approach them. But, all of a sudden, the teal Terror abandoned Hiccup altogether and began to chase after a small ball of light that appeared out of nowhere on the ground. The blonde's hand froze on the handle of her seax and the ball of light suddenly stopped moving.

"What the—" Hiccup exclaimed, his eyes searching. His bright green orbs finally locked on Astrid's hand that still covered her seax's handle. "It's the blade! The sun is reflecting off your seax's blade!" He cried out, tilting the blade of his own sword so that it hit the sun just right. To Astrid's utter surprise, another ball of light appeared on the ground, this one much longer and thinner than the first. The Terror however, saw it immediately and followed it unknowingly right back into its cage.

"Well done, Hiccup!" Gobber was grinning like mad when he lowered the gate back into place.

Hiccup ignored him though, instead turning to Astrid with a raised brow. "How are you the only one who managed to come out of this unscathed?" He teased, but Astrid caught the edge in his voice that told her that he was quite serious.

"My secrets are my own, Haddock." She murmured.

An angry blush rose onto his cheeks, bringing out the dusting of freckles upon them. His green eyes bore into hers, attempting to figure out what she was hiding from him. Astrid remained silent. She would tell him nothing. "Fine." He eventually snapped.

Astrid's gaze flickered to the little blue Terror's cage.

It undoubtedly deserved the extra fish she would bring it later.

—

 **[1] Eel Pox is a fictional disease from the** _ **Defenders of Berk**_ **universe (** _ **The Eel Effect**_ **) that affects both humans and dragons. In** _ **The Eel Effect**_ **, Toothless contracts the disease by accidentally eating an eel that attacks Hiccup. It is thought that humans may contract the illness in a similar manner, such as eating eel that is not properly cooked. In humans, the symptoms range from regular flu like symptoms to delusions. In dragons, it can make them extremely hostile by increasing their shot limit and power of shots while also throwing off their senses.**

 **[2] It is believed by some that the Terrible Terror in** _ **How to Train Your Dragon**_ **is Sharpshot, the same Terrible Terror that Hiccup trains in the** _ **Defenders of Berk**_ **episode,** _ **Worst in Show**_ **, but this can neither be confirmed or denied. In the same** _ **Defenders**_ **episode, Astrid trains an aqua blue and magenta Terrible Terror that she names Sneaky. As Astrid is technically the one bonding with the dragons** _ **at this moment in time (hint)**_ **, I decided that featuring Sneaky would make more sense than Sharpshot. Actually, what Sneaky does here to Hiccup is** _ **slightly**_ **similar to what he does to fool Alvin and the Outcasts in the episode. I sort of took some artistic liberties and combined Snotlout and Astrid's Terrors' characteristics into one Terror.**

—

 **I hope everyone is psyched for** _ **Race to the Edge**_ **on Friday. I am sure you all will be binge-watching like I will be!**

 **Just a side note: I really, really enjoy writing flustered Hiccup. I think that is why he and Astrid are always at each other's throats in this AU.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed Chapter Five! This was a bit of a set up for the next chapter, in which the ball will finally start rolling. We have some** _ **big**_ **stuff coming next week! Please leave me your thoughts! I have tried to respond to all the reviews that are sent in that I am able to (** _ **and let me tell you, that was**_ _ **extremely**_ _ **difficult if you were not aware of the "review bug" the site was plagued with for the past week, luckily it is now resolved**_ **), but I want you all to know how much I appreciate reading them!**

 **To the** _ **Guest**_ **reviewer who tore into my recommendation of the 2005 rendition of** _ **Pride and Prejudice:**_ **while it nearly broke my heart to see your harsh review of that version, I had never watched the 1995 BBC version ( _Yikes, I feel like such a terrible fan now_ ) and was very much intrigued after reading your comment to find it and watch it for myself! Lucky for me, I was able to watch all six episodes through Amazon Prime Video! While I think we will have to agree to disagree on our thoughts of the 2005 version, I must say that the BBC version was beautifully, splendidly written! My fiancé and I enjoyed watching it while we were both down with the flu last week and I loved it so much that I watched all the episodes a **_**second**_ **time when I was not completely out of it from fever/cold meds. :)  
**

— **Mari.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Warning** : _The middle of this chapter gets a bit…violent. Nothing that I believe should be rated M, but I felt as though this chapter deserves a warning nonetheless_.

—

 **Chapter Six**

Astrid was beginning to get used to getting very little sleep at night.

Between dragon training early in the morning, training with her axe and visiting Stormfly in the afternoons, post-training meetings in the evenings, and sneaking into the Kill Ring late at night to feed the captured dragons, there was not a lot of time left for sleep. Her mother could not understand why it was so hard for her to wake up in the mornings but Astrid did not have an explanation to give her. There was nothing she could say that would explain her lack of sleep without giving everything away. So instead of complaining, the blonde Viking sucked up what energy that she could muster and started the process all over again, business as usual.

Unfortunately, her exhaustion only increased her clumsiness. This _would_ have been a disaster in the Ring had the dragons not taken a liking to her over the past week. There was something to be said about gaining a dragon's loyalty with food. Once fed properly, some of the arena dragons began to act passive towards her-the Gronckle, the Zippleback, and the Nightmare, while some even bordered on playful-the Nadder and the Terror. The only dragon that still regarded her with suspicion was the Night Fury, not that she blamed the creature for being wary of her. It accepted the food that she tossed into its cage, but snarled at her if she stayed too long. However, the other dragons seemed excited to see her when she visited their cages late at night. Now, whether that was because they were happy to see her or just happy to see the fish that she brought them, was a mystery. Nonetheless, when it came to dragon training, the dragons no longer targeted the blonde Viking that brought them food at night and that certainly worked in her favor.

The other recruits barely registered that the dragons all seemed to miraculously avoid Astrid, all but Hiccup that is. He was very clever, but even he could not figure out how someone so accident-prone would be the only one to come out of dragon training without cuts or bruises. Astrid could tell that not knowing the answer drove him crazy. He never asked her again, not outright anyway, but she felt the questioning stares that he sent her way after every training session. It would only be a matter of time before his curiosity got the better of him. She would have to be careful.

A pained squawk brought her out of her musings.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Hold on, let me get some more water." She cooed.

Astrid dripped a spare piece of cloth into the bowl of water at her feet and then looked up at the green Nadder that stood patiently before her. She frowned at seeing the dried blood near its neck. Typically, she would not go into the training dragon cages. It was safer to only interact with them through the gate. Tonight however, she had little choice but to enter the Nadder's cell. During training that morning, Snotlout had nearly cut the Nadder's throat with a sword when it got too close to him. It had only been a well-timed, completely purposeful, tumble on her part that spared the dragon's life. Luckily, a sword was not the Jorgenson boy's weapon of choice. Snotlout had been distracted by Astrid's sudden fall and missed his initial target, the tip of the sword just barely grazing the Nadder's neck instead of plunging into earth colored scales. It had been worth the glare that he shot her afterwards for ruining his chance. The Nadder would be fine once she finished cleaning the wound.

"There, you go." Astrid said calmly, once all the dried blood was carefully wiped away. The broken scales would grow back in no time. "You are all better now."

The green Nadder chirped and nuzzled into her flaxen hair in thanks. The Viking chuckled when it blew steam at her hair, seemingly amused by the way the loose strands fluttered around her head. Stormfly did the very same thing when showing her affection. She wondered if it was a Nadder trait or something all dragons did. She never got close enough to the other dragons to find out.

"You know, I know another Nadder." Astrid began, nearly laughing when the dragon's head perked up in interest. "Her name is Stormfly, she lives here in the forests of Berk. I visit her in the afternoons." The green Nadder began to bob its head and trill with enthusiasm. "I think the two of you would be friends, you share a lot of the same mannerisms."

Just thinking of her blue Nadder made her sigh. The past couple days her mother had given her more chores to do than usual in preparation for the quickly approaching winter months. They were still doing minor repairs to their home from the last raid. With all the extra chores, her time spent in the woods with Stormfly was drastically cut short. She missed spending long afternoons with Stormfly. It was amazing how something that had been an enemy mere weeks ago, had grown to be so dear to her so suddenly. Visiting with Stormfly was by far the best part of her day. She enjoyed hearing Stormfly's cheerful chirping when she stepped into the grove. It was such a refreshing change from the exasperated stares and snooty looks she received from her fellow tribesmen.

Astrid talked with her dragon friend about anything and everything. She spoke of her training and why she aimed so hard for perfection. How her very honor was at stake every time she stepped foot from the house. The tribe was always watching, waiting, for her to screw things up even more. Sometimes she spoke of her soured friendship with the tribe's heir. Other times she spoke of the twins and the crazy pranks that they occasionally put the village through. Mostly though, she told Stormfly of her childhood, sharing precious memories of her father and what little she could remember of her fearless uncle. Remarkably, Stormfly listened attentively to every word. The dragon listened to her in a way that no one, with the exception of her mother and at times Ruffnut, would do.

It made her feel special, like someone actually valued her company.

After telling the green Nadder goodnight, Astrid moved on to the very last cage. When the gate rose, she was met with solid darkness. The seemingly empty cage did not fool her however, it was just one of the snide dragon's usual tricks. The Night Fury always seemed less than pleased to see her. It had been easy for Astrid to convince the Night Fury to approach her the first night, it had been starving. Now though, she had to fight tooth and nail with the creature just to get it to acknowledge her. It took the fish she offered without a complaint, but anything more resulted in annoyed snorts and eye rolling.

If someone would have told her a month ago that a dragon was capable of rolling its eyes, she would have feared they had gone mad. Now though, that opinion had changed. Originally, she thought that the Monstrous Nightmare was the temperamental dragon, but even its temper could not compare to the Night Fury's level of sass.

With a flint and a torch borrowed from the arena walls, Astrid lit a small flame and smirked when she saw the mysterious black dragon perched in its usual spot in the rafters. The Night Fury's eyes opened as the torch brought light into its cell. Its chartreuse gaze locked on the flames of the torch, decidedly mesmerized by the fire. She waved the torch slightly and the Night Fury followed the flames path with its eyes, releasing a purr-like sound from deep in its throat. Slowly, it leapt down from the rafters and began slinking towards her while making more curious warbles. The fire was the only way she found that the Night Fury would approach her willingly. She supposed that the dragon saw the fire as something relatable and approachable, unlike Astrid herself who certainly did not resemble anything dragon-like in the slightest.

The blonde Viking began shoving fish through the gate, which the Night Fury ate hastily. She sometimes wondered if the dragon even tasted its food at all. Soon, the basket was empty. No more fish. When the Night Fury realized this, it snarled at her and returned to its perch. Astrid sighed heavily. She was dismissed by a _dragon_. Knowing better than to linger, she quietly told the black dragon goodnight before locking it back up in darkness once more.

As she did every night, Astrid disposed of the empty fish basket in the storage house and then carefully began making her way back home. Once there, she would sneak back in her window, crawl into bed, and her mother would be none the wiser. It was a routine she had performed several times without any incidents. Really, the naïve Viking should have known her luck would run out eventually. It always did, after all. She was sneaking past the darkened forge when suddenly a hand shot out of the darkness and latched onto her arm. The blonde opened her mouth to scream but another hand clamped onto her mouth, effectively absorbing the sound.

"Relax, Astrid! It's just me." Her attacker pleaded.

She did not relax however, once she recognized the nasally tone. The hand on her arm spun her around. She tried to resist, but he was stronger. The very person she had hoped _not_ to run into stared down at her with a disapproving scowl.

"What are you doing out so late? You should be asleep. We have to be up for training in just a few hours."

"I could asked you the same question." Astrid retorted, glaring back defiantly.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but answered her anyway. "If you _must_ know, I was working late in the forge. The last dragon raid nearly destroyed the entire armory. Gobber and I have been working doubles to replenish it before the next one."

"Oh."

That explained why she saw a light on in the forge nearly every night, no matter how late the hour. As such, she normally avoided passing by the forge altogether but in doing that, it took her on a longer trek back to her house. Since it had been abnormally dark that evening, she had assumed that no one was there and chose to take the shorter path home. She should have known to be more cautious.

"So, are you going to return the favor?" He implored.

"I don't have to tell you anything, but if you _simply must know_ ," She began cheekily as she twisted on the end of her braid. "I had a bad dream and could not fall back asleep, so I went for a walk to clear my head."

It was a lie and the look on his face told her that Hiccup knew it was as well. But to her surprise, he did not call her out on it. Instead, he said, "Would you like to talk about it?"

Her eye twitched as irritation ignited within her. "Really? Really, Hiccup? _Now_ you want to talk? I have been trying to get you to speak with me for _days_ , all so that I can apologize for what happened up on that cliff, but you wouldn't even give me a chance." Halfway through her speech, Hiccup began staring at something over her shoulder and it only infuriated her even more. "I have been going over our last conversation over and over and over again in my mind. The guilt has been eating away at me! And now, all of a sudden you—"

"Astrid, stop."

"You have a lot of nerve, Haddock!" She bristled, feeling an angry flush rising on her face. If she were like her Nadder, she would have shot spines at him for so rudely interrupting her. But then, Hiccup's fingers suddenly rose to cup her chin. She was so startled by the unexpected, intimate gesture that her explosive rage fell flat. "Hiccup, what—"

"Look." He interrupted, turning her chin with his fingers.

Astrid squinted off into the distance. In the cloudy night sky, she could just barely make out various black dots on the edge of the horizon that appeared to be growing larger and larger. Her heart began to thunder in her chest when she realized what they were. _Dragons_. They were coming, hundreds of them. It was, without a doubt, the largest mass of dragons that she had ever seen and they were all headed straight for Berk. They had been lucky in the recent weeks. It had been two, almost three weeks, since the last dragon raid. She supposed that the time of peace meant that the worst was coming. It had been the calm before the storm.

Now, the storm was upon them.

" _Astrid_."

She tried to suppress the panic she felt rising within her and turned back as Hiccup said her name. Her eyes flitted over his face, praying that he had some kind of plan of action. This was _Hiccup_. He _always_ had a plan. He _had_ too. He was the acting chief in his father's absence. But what she saw in his gaze alarmed her. His intense emerald orbs mirrored the same terror she felt ripping through her chest. This was beyond any raid Berk had ever seen.

Before she knew what was happening, he clasped her hand tightly in his and they were running. To where, she did not know. Astrid was too shocked and too terrified to even question it. She followed him blindly as he drug her through the sleeping village streets, weaving in between darkened houses and buildings. Eventually, she realized they were running for the watch tower. The dragons were quickly approaching the village but the alarms were not going off yet. Why were they not ringing?!

Together, the two Vikings raced up the stairs, Astrid's hand still enveloped in his. When they reached the top of the tower, Hiccup cursed under his breath. It was no wonder the alarms were not going off. The guard was snoring soundly, leaning back against the wall.

"Torkel!" Hiccup snapped. "Get up!"

The guard snapped awake and ran his hands over his bearded face. "Hiccup? What—"

"Sound the alarm. Now!"

"But—"

"For Odin's sake! I said _NOW_!" His tone left no room for argument.

In that moment, Hiccup sounded exactly like the leader that he was destined to be. Torkel wisely scrambled to his feet, rushed over to the large horn at the center of the small room, and pressed his lips to the instrument. The sound of the horn was so loud, so powerful, that it shook the entire tower. Within minutes, Vikings began spilling out of their houses. Even from up in the watch tower, Astrid could see the panic on their faces when they saw what was coming.

Everything exploded into absolute chaos. Men were frantically calling out orders. Women were rushing the elderly and children towards the safety of the caves. But despite their efforts, there was no time to properly prepare for the onslaught. Even if they would had time to properly prepare, Berk would still be in grave danger. They were down many warriors. They had not anticipated a raid of this magnitude so close to winter and most of Berk's most able Vikings had chosen to accompany the Chief on the final expedition to find the dragon's nest. Only a few had remained behind to protect the village. It was a costly mistake. They had underestimated their foes.

And suddenly, the first wave of dragons were upon them.

The night sky turned bloody orange as flames quickly descended upon the meager fishing village. From the watch tower, Astrid could see it all. Hundreds of dragons of all shapes and sizes ransacked houses, stealing whatever food they could get their claws on. Fierce battle cries followed. Screams of terror. Bolas, spears, and arrows filled the air. Some met their mark, piercing into dragon hide, while others fell short. Axes and swords sliced through scales and occasionally, they missed, instead hitting human flesh. There was blood. So much blood, both human and dragon.

It was a horrific sight.

For a moment, Astrid forgot about all about Stormfly. She forgot about the peaceful dragons caged in the arena that she fed and talked to late at night. She was numb to all but the destruction unfolding before her very eyes.

A soft squeezing on her fingers brought her out of her trance. She realized with a start that Hiccup was still holding onto her hand.

"Where are your weapons?" He asked quickly.

It took her a moment to answer.

"I-I left them at home. My axe is under my pillow. I-I didn't, I—"

"Take this." He dropped her hand and thrust his shield out to her. "If you must make a choice between a sword and a shield, always pick the shield." Gobber had told them that very thing the first day of dragon training.

She shook her head, unwilling to accept it. "No, Hiccup. I can't."

"Just temporarily, until we get your axe." He unsheathed his sword and gave it an experimental twirl. "Your house is not far from here."

"You want me to fight?" She questioned in disbelief.

Hiccup rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Okay."

He did not have to tell her twice.

They descended the steps of the watch tower carefully. Astrid went first, as she had the shield that would protect both of them if need be, and Hiccup followed behind, his sword ready. Together they maneuvered the chaotic streets that they had spent their entire lives navigating. The first dragon that they encountered was a Hobblegrunt. The color changing dragon dropped from its perch on a nearby house and screeched savagely. A warning. Astrid automatically raised Hiccup's shield just as fire exploded around it. Seconds later, came a wounded shriek. She lowered the shield just in time to see Hiccup twisting his sword into the beast's gut. His lips suddenly drew into a deep frown as the dragon continued to wail in pain. It was over before it even began. Sticky, dark blood coated the blade when he pulled his sword from the Hobblegrunt's soft underside. She forced herself to feel nothing for the dying creature.

 _The beast deserved it_.

All too soon, Hiccup was grabbing her arm and tugging her away.

"Let's get out of here." He said irritably.

They encountered three more dragons, all of which were fended off by the combined efforts of the two Vikings, before they finally made it to Astrid's house. Her mother was not home when she burst through the door. Astrid could only assume that she was out fighting as well. Sparing that no more thought other than a whispered prayer to the Gods for her mother's safety, Astrid quickly retrieved her axe and shield and then rejoined Hiccup outside. He smiled tightly when he saw the axe gripped firmly in her hand.

"Good, you've got them? Let's go. The others should be around here somewhere."

He started to take off but she impulsively grabbed his hand, tugging him back to her. "Hiccup, I'm sorry."

"Now is not exactly—"

She cut him off. She had to get this out. _Just in case_ …

"You were right, Gobber did not forge my weapons." Her fingers tightened around his. " _You_ did."

Hiccup ducked his head slightly, refusing to meet her burning gaze. "I did." He admitted quietly.

"Thank you." It was quiet, no more than a whisper, but the squeeze on her hand told her that he heard her. The innocent gesture sent lightning zapping up her arm. He finally looked up and they held one another's gaze for just a few breathless moments. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she felt her face heat up against her will – his eyes were so _green_.

"We should go."

When his hand left hers, it felt strangely empty.

Astrid dutifully followed Hiccup as he searched for their friends. Almost immediately, they were attacked by a Scuttleclaw. Astrid struck the head of her axe against her shield, creating a distracting noise, while Hiccup delivered the killing blow. Again, his face twisted. The dragon fell to the ground with a pitiful moan but they did not stick around to see what happened next. Hiccup all but drug her away as soon as the dragon fell. The battle continued. Astrid was very thankful for all the training she had forced herself through in the past few weeks. Her agility and strength had greatly improved. She and Hiccup moved flawlessly together, anticipating each other's movements surprisingly well for never having fought in a raid together before. She swung her axe at a Snafflefang's exposed underside just as he shielded her from the oncoming blast of a Zippleback. They played off of each other's strengths while instinctively protecting each other's weaknesses, moving fluidly as if they were performing some sort of dance instead of battling fire breathing beasts. The Snafflefang was her first kill— _ever_ —but she had no desire to celebrate as she should have.

Their success eventually garnered the attention of the other warrior's around them, all of whom were surprised to see the two fighting so well together. Various villagers called out words of encouragement as they passed but she ignored them. She ignored everything but the feeling of the axe handle in her hand and the actions of the young man fighting at her side. Astrid forced herself not to feel, not to think, only act. She could not afford to think. If she thought, Stormfly's trusting face would appear before her eyes and _that_ was the very last thing she needed to see as the blade of her axe sliced at a dragon's scales. Everything she did, she did on pure instinct.

She fought for her father.

She fought to regain her honor.

She fought for the survival of her home.

Astrid was so focused in fact, that when the edge of her axe met the end of an iron spear instead of scales, she staggered back in shock. The others teens had finally arrived. "Looks like you and Hiccup had all the fun!" Ruffnut teased with a wicked grin on her lips. If she was surprised to see Astrid sweating from exertion and covered in dragon's blood, the female twin did not show it.

"We were looking for you guys," Astrid grunted in reply. "But the dragons are everywhere!"

"Were everywhere." The other girl corrected, gesturing to the quickly emptying village.

Most of the dragons were finally taking to the sky with whatever they could get their claws on and disappearing into the dark clouds above. Only a few stubborn ones remained. The two females fell into step together, jumping right back into the fray of fighting. With the combined efforts of Gobber, the recruits, and Berk's remaining warriors, the last of the dragons were surprisingly fended off rather quickly. Astrid breathed a sigh of relief as she cut down her very last dragon. However, that relief quickly turned to anguish as she took a closer look at the dying creature at her feet. She staggered back in shock, her axe slipping from her grip and falling to the ground with a thud. _Blue scales_. _Nadder_. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest. It was _not_ Stormfly, but the Nadder resembled her dragon friend so much that Astrid had to force down the bile rising in her throat.

What if it _had_ been Stormfly?

What if it had been one of the training dragons?

All the emotions she had suppressed during the raid assaulted her at once. Her knees buckled under the sheer weight of it all. What had she _done_?! Astrid felt utterly sick to her stomach. So many dragons had fell that night to the blade of her axe. Her beautiful, flawless axe that Stormfly helped her train to use. _Stormfly_. All color abruptly left her face and spots swam in her vision. Suddenly, she felt weightless. Her chest began to constrict painfully.

She barely registered the cheers of the villagers.

She barely registered Gobber's enthusiastic congratulations.

She barely registered Ruffnut's frantic voice asking if she was okay.

She barely registered the thin arms that wrapped around her midsection as she collapsed.

"— _in shock_."

" _Never fought a battle_ —"

"— _first kill_."

" _Take her home_ —"

"— _be okay?_ "

Astrid felt her body being lifted into someone's arms, but she was too lost in her raging thoughts to fight them. _Dragons were not bad creatures_. Stormfly. The dragons caged in the Kill Ring. They were _all_ proof that dragons could be reasoned with if given a chance. She had promised after meeting Stormfly that she would never harm a dragon again— _she had broken that promise_. She desperately wanted to be a warrior, but was it worth _this_? Had she really thought that the Hobblegrunt _deserved_ death? And that was not all. She shivered violently as the deaths of all the dragons she had taken down that night replayed before her eyes. How could she have done something so ruthless? How could she have been so heartless, so brutal?

Her body was eventually coaxed down onto something soft and then quickly covered up by something warm. She snuggled closer to the warmth that surrounded her, desperate to escape the haze that had settled over her. She was so warm, so comfortable, so tired. Sleep clawed at her consciousness, fighting to overtake the visions that still plagued her thoughts. Just as she was about to give in to the exhaustion she felt, there was a sudden feather light pressure on her forehead. Astrid struggled to open her eyes, but everything was so incredibly fuzzy. She thought she saw a flash of red. Then again, it could have been green or brown. Was it hair or a tunic? Perhaps it was leather.

What was she saying? A chuckle. Great, now she was also hearing things.

"— _sleep,_ _my Valkyrie_."

She did.

—

Her head was pounding when she woke up the next morning.

Soft rays of morning light flitted in the window across from her bed, illuminating her modest bedroom. Astrid sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes with her fists. Was it truly morning already? She felt as though she had just fallen asleep. Her head was throbbing as if she had been clubbed over the head with Tuffnut's favorite mace. _What happened?_

It came back to her in spurts. Running into Hiccup outside of the forge. The dragon raid. The watch tower. Hiccup holding her hand. She apologized. They fought the dragons—together. The strange look that crossed his face each time he killed a dragon. Blood. So much blood. Then it was over. Everything went black? What happened after she saw the dying blue Nadder at her feet? She could not remember.

Her stomach clenched violently as she thought of the death and destruction that she would have to face on her way to the Kill Ring that morning. The Kill Ring! How was she supposed to face the other dragons knowing what monstrous act she had participated in the previous night? Her stomach clenched again. This time she did not hold back the urge to empty what little content remained in her stomach into the chamber pot beneath her bed.

It took all of her strength to rise from her warm, comfortable bed and shrug on her armor. It was laid in a neat pile at the end of her bed, as if someone other than her had taken it off of her and arranged it for her to put back on in the morning. After her armor was on, she whirled around looking for her weapons. Her axe and shield were both propped up against the wall instead of in their usual places at the head of her bed. They had been cleaned. There was no sight of blood on her weapons. She breathed out a sigh of relief. She likely would have gagged again if she had spied dragon blood on her precious weapons. It finally occurred to her that someone must have brought her home after the raid. Had she fallen unconscious? Been hit by something? It would explain her pounding headache. She would have to ask Ruffnut. The female twin was the last person she remembered seeing before everything blacked out.

The walk to the Kill Ring was nerve wracking. She kept her head down, unwilling to look at the damage caused by the previous night's raid. Or the _carcasses_. It had been costly, destruction wise. Despite that, as far as she knew, all the villagers were safe and they were already starting to repair and rebuild, just as they always did. A few of them actually stopped their progress just to offer their thanks and congratulations for her bravery during the raid. She had finally done her duty to her tribe, done a good service. She had finally killed a dragon **[1]**. It was not enough for her family's honor to be restored by any means, but it was a start. For once, her tribe was actually _proud_ of her. Any other Viking would have been preening at the attention she was receiving, but not her. Their words only worsened the guilt eating away at her stomach. By the time she finally walked under the gate of the arena, tight pressure was beginning to reform inside of her chest.

"Astrid!" A voice called out. The Viking in question looked up and saw Ruffnut rushing towards her. "You're alright!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Astrid was stunned when the other girl suddenly embraced her tightly, but returned the hug nonetheless. "What happened last night? I feel like I've been bludgeoned."

Ruffnut frowned, pulling away to look at Astrid's face. "What do you remember?"

"I remember the raid but after that, nothing." In truth, she wished to block it _all_ out, but clearly that was not going to happen.

"After the raid was over, you fell into some state of shock." Ruffnut explained, speaking slowly for good measure. "It was like you were there, but could not see or hear us. Then, you just completely collapsed. Hiccup had to carry you home."

Astrid could faintly recall being carried by a pair of arms, but at the time she had been too out of it to know whose arms they were. For some inexplicable reason, despite their unresolved issues, it made her feel safe knowing that Hiccup had taken care of her when she was in such a state. Part of her wondered if he had stayed after he carried her home, if he was the one who put her to bed. The memory was extremely fuzzy, but she could remember soft laughter and a voice telling her to go to sleep just before she drifted off. Someone had kissed her forehead as well. Her cheeks warmed. Had it been Hiccup, or her mother?

That thought resonated with her from the moment that it popped into her head until Gobber moved to open up the Monstrous Nightmare's cage. So lost in her thoughts was she that she had not even realized the others had arrived. Although they had proven themselves quite capable of fighting dragons during the raid, training would still proceed as normal.

"Ye can never get enough practice." Their odd instructor reasoned and released the Nightmare upon them.

For the first time since she befriended the dragons, Astrid was terrified.

She ran.

The Monstrous Nightmare sprang from its cell, taking to the air and climbing up the metal cage that encased the top of the arena. It's giant maw opened and white hot flames burst forth. They licked at the stone walls below, making the place swell with all too intense heat. Astrid panted heavily, coming to a sudden halt, and wiped away the sweat forming on her brow. The extreme heat was an all too painful reminder of the previous night. The flames had been hot then too, but she had forced herself to ignore it then, just as she had ignored everything else.

Her heart was not in the exercise that day, even more so than usual. If Gobber had not been yelling at her to participate every five seconds, she would have just sat down on the ground in a corner, propped her shield up in front of her to protect her from the flames, and called it a day. Instead, she reluctantly circled her way around the arena and tried her best to stay out of the Nightmare's way altogether. The other recruits seemed surprised by her total lack of enthusiasm. Snotlout even called her out on it, much to her embarrassment. She let it go, barely having the energy to argue with him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hiccup asked at one point when they found themselves crouched side by side. His concern was appreciated but unnecessary.

"I'm fine." She fibbed.

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes searching her face and no doubt taking note of the dark circles under her eyes. "Are you—"

"I'm fine, Hiccup!"

He scowled, clearly irritated by her abrupt dismissal of the topic and left her side soon after.

Just when it seemed as though the exercise was never going to end, Astrid found herself distracted for just a second too long. It was not her fault, not really. The twins had just run past her after irritating the already infuriated monstrous dragon. The beast swung its long neck in an arc, spraying hot flames all around. She found herself grabbing for her shield just a second too late and a portion of the flames came straight for her. The young Viking managed to duck low to the ground just in time to avoid direct contact, but the intense heat was enough. She screamed, loud and shrilly, with fright and with pain.

The Nightmare suddenly froze, hearing the little blonde human's cry.

From her curled position, Astrid saw all the fury instantly drain out of the dragon. The flames burnt out on its skin, leaving only shiny red scales in its place. The Nightmare's posture shrunk slightly, its head tilted sideways, and it lowered its muzzle slowly to the ground. It recognized that it almost harmed her, its _friend_ , and felt remorse. The action only intensified the guilt bubbling in the pit of her stomach. It took the Nightmare _half_ _a_ _second_ to realize what it had done while it had taken her _hours_ the night before. If that did not say something about the mentality of dragons, she did not know what else would.

But Astrid was the only Viking in the arena who recognized the dragon's action for what it really was, an agreement for ceasefire. The other recruits saw a window of opportunity to strike.

The sound of running feet was the first indication that something was wrong. Her eyes snapped from the Nightmare to the Viking sprinting across the arena, who was attempting to take full advantage of the dragon's distraction. But the sound quickly attracted the attention of the Nightmare as well and within seconds, its body was lit up with flames once more. The flames did not deter the determined Viking however, he continued forward with his sword raised and his face set. Astrid was hit with an intense sense of déjà vu and a memory surfaced. _A Monstrous Nightmare was engaged in battle with a rather unconventional looking Viking who was armed with a long sword. Even from a distance, Astrid could see the fierce determination, sweat, and soot that marred the young man's handsome features as he arced his sword high in the air, preparing to land a blow on the dragon's neck. She had to look away, unable to stand the sight of blood splattering across her fellow Viking's armor and face._ He had not missed, Hiccup had killed a Monstrous Nightmare that night.

She was not about to let it happen again.

Not to this dragon.

She was much closer to the dragon than he was. If she timed it right, she could reach the Nightmare first. Astrid was running towards the red dragon before a plan even completely formulated in her mind. There was not time to think, only time to act. As she ran, she brought two fingers to her mouth and whistled sharply, the same whistle she used to call Stormfly. The whistle apparently worked on the Nightmare as well, as the dragon instantly swiveled its head from Hiccup to her. The blonde Viking quickly leapt forward, reaching out towards the dragon's maw and scratched a sweet spot just under the jawline. The Nightmare hummed contentedly and promptly collapsed at her feet. She glanced up from the now placid dragon just in time to see Hiccup stumble up to her, his jaw completely slack and his sword clutched weakly in his left hand.

"How did you _do_ that?"

"I figured that if it worked once, it would work again." She shrugged, hoping it came off as nonchalant.

Obviously she could not tell him the real reason she knew it would work. She tried to avoid his disbelieving stare, instead forcing her gaze on Gobber as he led the now docile Nightmare back to its cell. The whole way, Gobber kept looking between the dragon and Astrid with a bewildered expression.

Hiccup however, would not drop it. "Twice now you have used that trick and you say that you just came up with it all on your own, by accident? It is a complete fluke? Because I have read the Book of Dragons cover to cover hundreds of times and it mentions nothing of that particular weakness in dragons. So if not there, where did you learn it?"

"What are you insinuating?" She did not like his accusatory tone, even if he had every right to be suspicious. "Do you think I'm cheating?" The recruits were not allowed outside help when it came to dragon training to keep one recruit having an unfair advantage over the others. Everything they learned was supposed to be taught in the Ring or read in the Book of Dragons.

He mimicked her nonchalant shrug, "All I am saying is that it is just a bit suspicious that you just happened to miraculously know to scratch that particular spot."

"I didn't!" She fired back. "It was an impulse!"

"You are lying." He deadpanned. "You always twist on the end of your braid just like that when you are lying." Her hand instantly dropped from where she had indeed been unconsciously twisting the end of her braid. _Damn him_. He was right, it was a trait of hers that she had had since she could remember. Inwardly, she cursed Hiccup for remembering her mannerisms so well. "Not to mention, I do not believe for one second that you were out walking around last night because you had a nightmare." He spat, poking at her shoulder guards accusingly. "You were wearing your armor, for Thor's sake!"

 _Does he really have to do this now? In front of the others?_

She ventured a glance at the other recruits and found them watching her with varied expressions of anger, suspicion, and disappointment. Even Gobber looked as though he was considering Hiccup's words. She could not explain herself without giving everything away. It was hopeless. Hiccup was slowly backing her into a corner with no means of escape. Why could he not just let things be what they were? She was tired of arguing with him. It was constantly one step forward and then two steps back with him. The dance was becoming exhausting and if he did not stop soon, he would ruin everything—everything that she had worked so hard to keep a secret. Astrid felt cold dread pool into her stomach at the thought.

"It is kind of suspicious." Tuffnut interjected.

Snotlout scowled, "Definitely suspicious."

Astrid's fists clenched at her sides. She looked expectantly at Fishlegs to see if he had anything he wanted to add. He whistled awkwardly and said nothing.

As if sensing the explosive argument that was about to occur, Ruffnut stepped in between Hiccup and Astrid and for once, acted as their voice of reason. "Guys, now it not exactly the time—"

"Gobber?" Astrid interrupted her friend and looked at their instructor pleadingly. "You do not seriously believe this yak shit, do you?"

The blond man scratched at his mustache, "He has a valid point, Astrid. I know ye want to earn back yer clan's honor, but cheating is not the way to go about that."

Astrid fumed, "Are you serious?!"

Gobber simply shrugged and looked back to Hiccup.

"You are always disappearing after practice _and_ I know last night was not your first night sneaking out. I work late in the forge a lot, remember? I have seen you more than just once. So stop lying, Astrid! No one just _gets_ that good. _Especially_ you." Hiccup replied stonily.

The last sentence was like a Nadder spine to the chest.

"Astrid, he did not mean—" Ruffnut started in Hiccup's defense but Astrid had already heard enough.

" _Why_ is this so important to you all of a sudden? You have not given a _damn_ what I have done with my life since we turned fourteen! I can fight off dragons, so what? Why are you so surprised that I am actually good at something when _none of you gave me the chance to even try_ before! Are you that embarrassed that _Hopeless Hofferson_ actually managed to be better than you at something?" Astrid snapped, the words spilling from her lips without warning. Deep down, she knew that it was not true. Her weapons were proof enough that Hiccup cared, that he was not embarrassed of her, but she was so infuriated by his prying that she could not stop the words from spewing forth regardless. "Why can you not just let me be?"

Hiccup flinched at the vengeful words, his eyes immediately lost their hardness. "Astrid, I—"

She did not give him the chance to finish.

She would _not_ give him the chance to ruin it all.

Astrid sprinted from the arena without a glance back at the Vikings she left dumbfounded in the wake of her abrupt departure. She ran blindly, adrenaline taking over and fueling her body, for an unknown amount of time as she sprinted away from the village and into the dense forests of Berk. The thick brush did nothing to dissuade her. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. Soon the trees and vegetation turned into nothing but a passing blur of green and brown. She lost track of where exactly she was running. All of a sudden, the young Viking was in uncharted territory. Nothing looked familiar yet it was all the same. Yet she pressed on, despite the snags of branches to her tunic and face, her legs pumping and her chest heaving with exertion.

Suddenly, she was no longer running but falling. An unseen tree root caught her foot and sent her flying unceremoniously face first onto the forest floor. For a moment, she simply lay there, unable to move. Her chest felt like it was about to explode with every breath that she took. When her breathing finally returned to normal, she turned onto her side and curled her knees up to her chest.

It was there, alone and lying on the cold forest floor, that she finally allowed herself to fall apart.

Astrid Hofferson was not one to cry. She could honestly count the times that she had completely broken down into tears on one hand. Now, as she laid on the dirty ground, she could add another time to the list. Tears rolled down her cheeks, eventually falling and mixing into the dirt below. She could do nothing to stop them. The emotional tidal wave that she had unexpectedly taken part on had finally become too much. She could barely think straight she was so confused. Why did this have to happen to _her_ of all people? All she had wanted since her father's death was to finally kill a dragon. Now she had _finally_ gotten her wish and the village had taken notice.

So why did she feel so incredibly _guilty_?

She still wanted the respect of her village. She still wanted the Hofferson clan's honor restored. Her performance the night before was a step in the right direction but it was not enough. To truly earn their respect and to regain the Hofferson clan's honor, she would have to win dragon training. There was no higher honor than killing a dragon that up until recently, no one had ever seen before **[2]**. But now, she was not sure she could do it. In fact, she _knew_ that she could not do it. She would never be able to harm the Night Fury. She would never, _ever_ harm a dragon again and she would do good to make sure that this time, she would _not_ break that promise. She would just have to find another way to regain her honor.

It all started with Stormfly.

Not that she truly blame her dragon. No, it was her own fault. She was the Viking who had befriended a dragon, which then led to a treacherous respect of a whole slew of dragons. She thought she had been covering her tracks. She thought that no one had noticed her disappearances and odd behavior. She was wrong. She was uncomfortable with just how close Hiccup had come to uncovering her secret in the Ring. Even worse, he had rallied the others against her as well. Now they were all suspicious of her. How was she supposed to explain herself? She could not hide forever.

All those conflicted feelings, combined with the guilt she still felt from the vicious acts she had partook in previous night was enough to emotionally cripple her. Abruptly, she was overcome with the urge to see her blue scaled Nadder. She _needed_ Stormfly. She put two fingers against her lips and whistled shrilly, hoping that she was at least somewhere near Stormfly's nest. Slowly, she sat up and looked around. She knew she had to be somewhat close, but every tree and rock looked the same and she was not on any distinct path. The only markings were the broken vegetation and branches that she had trampled through. She sat very still and listened carefully for the distinct pattern of wing beats or clomping footsteps but heard none.

"Stormfly!" She croaked, trying a more direct approach. "STORMFLY!"

Nothing.

The distressed Viking whistled a few more times but again, nothing. She was about to give up when a small sound made her freeze. There was faint movement in the forest behind her, but it did not sound like a dragon. It was too quiet to be a dragon. No, it sounded almost like—a sword cutting back vegetation? _No_. Her heart leapt into her throat. _No, no, no!_ He had _not_ followed her!

Astrid leapt to her feet, her tears abruptly leaving her eyes in her sudden panic. She was an emotional wreck, a complete mess, and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was the very last person she wanted to see.

"Astrid?"

Gods, he sounded worried.

 _No, no, no, no! Go away!_ Her mind screamed.

"Astrid!"

The footsteps and the slicing sound of the sword grew louder. His voice calling out her name became clearer, and surprisingly, more frantic. He was closing in on her. She could not run, he would hear her. He called her name again and this time, it sounded just yards away. Her heart pounded even faster. There was no time to properly hide and although she was completely surrounded by trees and underbrush, there really was no good place to hide. Not that she would lower herself down to that level anyhow. She was not afraid to face Hiccup, she just did not want to. Not when she was in such an emotional state.

Brush began to rustle to the right. She turned towards the sound and waited with baited breath for his russet hair to appear. More rustling. Then she saw his sword slice through the bush that her gaze was locked on. Slowly, the chief's son ducked under the brush and into the minuscule clearing Astrid had collapsed in. One fur boot stepped through, his armored body swung under a stray branch, then came the other boot. His wide green eyes were instantly on her as he straightened his stance. Panic turned to relief when he saw that she was indeed safe and sound, just a little scratched up.

"Why must you always find me when I do not want you to?" Astrid muttered in lieu of anything better to say. There was little fight left in her voice.

"I know and I'm sorry, b-but I really need to talk to you." He took a nervous step towards her, as if he was afraid she would snap at him if he made the wrong move. He sheathed his sword in its sheath at his hip and reached out for her. Astrid took an automatic step back, putting more space between them, and stared stubbornly down at her boots, refusing to look at him. "I-I should not have questioned you in front of everyone, that was insensitive of me. I just—you cannot be ignorant to how it looks, Astrid. You sneaking around all the time, suddenly excelling at dragon training, knowing things that even Gobber does not know? It's all kind of suspicious."

"It is _that_ surprising that I am actually good at something?" She huffed. "Congratulations Hiccup, you sure know how to compliment a girl."

Hiccup ran a frustrated hand through his messy locks, "I never said that, I only said that it is suspicious. Stop putting words in my mouth!" He looked to be about five seconds away from pulling his hair out.

And that was when she heard it.

The sudden flapping of wings and a very familiar squawk. Hiccup froze and tilted his head slightly, his gaze raising to the treetops above them. He heard it too.

 _Stormfly_.

—

 **[1] As you saw in the first chapter, some of the teens have already killed dragons before dragon training started (i.e. Hiccup and although it was not directly mentioned, Snotlout has as well.) But this is Astrid's first. Her honor and by association her clan's honor is still tarnished, but she is on her way to improving the village's opinion of her by fighting well in the dragon raid.**

 **[2] In this story, dragon training is being held to improve the teen's way of fighting dragons and make them better warriors for when it is their generation's job to look after the village. It is not necessarily to give them the honor of having their first kill. "Killing the Night Fury" is just an incentive for them to do well. But in Astrid's case, the stakes are much higher. If she were the win dragon training and kill the Night Fury, she and her clan would have their respect and honor restored — something she has dreamed about for years. Thus, it is perfectly understandable that she would feel so conflicted. She is torn between her duty to her clan/tribe and her friendship with Stormfly/what she has truly learned about dragons.**

—

 _ **Da, da-da! We're dead!**_

 **I know this chapter is a day or two early but 1.) I'm super excited about this chapter!, 2.) We had a snow/ice storm last night and I got to leave work early so that I could get home before everything re-freezes tonight, which gave me extra time to do last minute edits, and 3.) I start my last semester of college on Tuesday and I need some positive vibes because I'm _freaking out!_ **

**Anyhow...All Hel is about to break loose! I know there are several parts in this chapter that are probably a bit confusing, but I did that purposely to convey the confusion Astrid felt during the dragon raid and after. In case you did not catch on, she went into a nasty state of shock—** _ **twice**_ **. In the review replies that I sent out for the last chapter, I mentioned to a lot of you that there would be some things hidden within this chapter that will perhaps enlighten you on Hiccup's true character. I want to point this out because there have been several users who have expressed reservation with how Hiccup is portrayed in this AU (a lot of these were from** _ **guest**_ **reviewers, so unfortunately my author's note is my only way of addressing this). Remember that what you know right now of Hiccup's character is based on Astrid's assumptions of him and do not necessarily reflect what Hiccup himself is doing and thinking. We will find out what Hiccup is up to soon, so please be patient with me on that. Isn't part of the fun the mystery surrounding what he is doing and what his intentions are? Additionally, as I have said before, this is a slow burn for the SS Hiccstrid ship. We still have a ways to go before any mutual romance is going to happen — they need to repair their friendship first and foremost. It's coming, I promise. I hope you will all be content to read hints of the Rufflegs ship until then. ;)**

 **For those of you who watched _Race to the Edge_ season two, what did you think of it?! I will try not to post any spoilers for the second season within this story for quite a while, as I know there are some users who are not watching all of the episodes right away. However, I will give a fair warning and say that Chapter Fifteen and on will have definite spoilers from the first season of _Race to the Edge_ ;) so be prepared for that! I will let you know if any spoilers from the second season are added to that as well. I have to say, I was quite inspired by the new episodes! :D **

**I think you all know what is coming in Chapter Seven, but I think it may still surprise you. In the meantime, please let me know what you thought about Chapter Six!**

— **Mari.**

 **PS. _Drengskapr_ finally hit over 100 followers for chapter five which is AWESOME! I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, and left reviews for this story. I seriously cannot tell you how much I appreciate your enthusiasm! :D If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask! I love answering them!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly ( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

Just when she thought her luck would not get any worse, the Gods proved her wrong.

Hiccup came to his senses faster than she did. He was at her side almost immediately, grabbing onto her arm and forcing her back from the sounds of the approaching dragon. The blonde Viking barely registered the movement and instead stared upwards in horror, just waiting for blue, red, and yellow scales to break through the canopy of treetops and descend upon them. Then all Hel would break loose. Hiccup would attack her dragon, Stormfly would try to protect herself, and Astrid would be forced to intervene. Hiccup would then realize her betrayal and expose her secret to the entire village.

In an instant, all her worst nightmares became a living reality.

"Ready your axe. We do not know what kind of dragon it is." Hiccup whispered, drawing his own weapon. He noticed her frantic expression and tried to comfort her, not knowing the true reason of her fear. "Don't worry! We can do this. Remember, it's just _one_ dragon. We took down _many_ more last night."

Astrid only had a split second to make a decision on how to approach the situation. On one hand, they could try to run but there was always a chance that Stormfly might follow. The second choice would be to disarm Hiccup before he had the chance to even try to fight Stormfly. Knowing Hiccup, he would not agree to run, which meant she really only had one choice. His reminder of the previous night's events only solidified her desire to protect Stormfly. Not only did she owe it to her friend, but she owed it to all the dragons whose lives she had brutally and prematurely ended. It was a stupid and crazy decision but in her heart, she knew it was the right one. Before she could second guess herself, she firmly shrugged Hiccup's hand off her arm.

"Wha—"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off with a startled cry. In one swift move, Astrid kicked his feet out from under him, sending him tumbling to the ground just as Stormfly burst through the trees. The blue Nadder landed gracefully on the ground and chirped curiously at the stranger that accompanied her Viking friend. Hiccup however, did not take so kindly to Stormfly's presence. He scrambled for his sword, which he had dropped during the fall. When the Nadder caught sight of the metal weapon, her spines rose and began to rattle in warning. Astrid acted quickly and before Hiccup could get to his sword, she kicked it out of reach under a bile of thick brush.

"Why would you _do_ that?" Hiccup looked at her dubiously, his chest heaving. "Are you _crazy_?!"

Stormfly hissed irritably at Hiccup's enraged tone. Astrid rushed over and attempted to calm the confused dragon, scratching steadily at the sky colored scales. "It's okay. It's okay, girl. He's a friend." She coaxed. The Nadder bobbed her head, retracting her spines, but she still eyed the strange boy suspiciously. Hiccup slowly rose to his feet, his face giving away both the incredulity and betrayal that he felt. "I-It's fine, Hiccup." She tried to reassure him but her voice came out shaky. "You just scared her!"

" _Her_?! Who is _her_?"

Astrid sighed heavily. There was no getting out of this one. Hiccup was going to find out her secret one way or another. "Hiccup, meet Stormfly. You wanted to know how I got so good in the Ring, well here is your answer!" Astrid said slowly, gesturing to the Nadder. "I befriended a dragon!" As the words left her mouth, she cringed and waited for the blow up she knew was bound to happen.

But Hiccup did not yell. He did not scream or call her a traitor. He did nothing but shake his head, regarding her with bitter disappointment. "I cannot believe you!" Stormfly bristled once more. "Cheating is one thing, but siding with _dragon_? After what they did to your family? After what they did to my family?! You do realize this is cause for treason, right?"

Astrid sighed. Yes, she did know that. She knew that all too well.

"Hiccup, just hear me out. Please!"

He shook his head again and her heart sank. Hiccup quickly found his sword and darted out of the clearing, running as fast as he could. She knew where he was headed. He was running for the village. He was going to tell Gobber, the remaining elders—anyone who would listen. Her mind raced with what would come of that. There would be a warrant out for her arrest before nightfall. The elders would publicly lead her to the cellblock where she would be locked up until they decided her punishment. A chill ran down her spine. Berk's prison was underground, heavily fortified, and trapped in complete darkness. It was not meant to be habitable or comforting in the least. She cringed at the thought of spending the night all alone in place like that.

That could not happen.

She could not let Hiccup reach the village.

She had to find him and change his mind about dragons.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cried, grabbing the Nadder's attention. The blue dragon instantly came to her side. "We cannot let him escape! We are going after him." She said resolutely, hoping her friend understood. To her complete bewilderment, Stormfly knelt down on her hind legs and regarded Astrid with an expectant expression. _What is she doing?_ It took a well-aimed puff of air to the face to get the perplexed Viking's attention. Stormfly chirped urgently and bobbed her head towards her back.

"What is it girl?"

Stormfly looked meaningfully towards her back again and flapped her wings slightly. Astrid's eyes widened when it dawned on her what the dragon wanted. Stormfly wanted her to get on her back.

They were going to _fly_.

Astrid immediately began to shake her head back and forth, "Oh no, no, no, no! We are not flying!" She howled. "No way! I am not riding a dragon!" Stormfly's pupils dilated in insult and she quickly backtracked. "Not that riding a dragon is bad or anything. I am sure you are an excellent flier—"

Stormfly snorted proudly as if to say, " _Yes, of course I am_."

"Of course you are. I just—I am scared of heights." Astrid finally muttered.

The dragon merely glanced between Astrid and her back pointedly, a silent command for her to get over whatever fear she had and get on her back. After a brief mental argument with herself about doing something so insane, Astrid placed a unsteady hand on Stormfly's back to help her get some leverage. It took a couple of tries and a little nudge from the Nadder, but eventually the anxious Viking sat astride one of Berk's archenemies as if she were nothing but a common horse.

Without warning, Stormfly opened her speckled wings and flapped once, twice, before shooting off into the canopy above them. Astrid's ears popped painfully with the sudden change in altitude. The trees were suddenly specks of green and brown beneath them and all she could see before her was miles and miles of mountains, forests, ocean, and open sky. Astrid screamed shrilly until her breath was stolen from her as they soared higher and higher into the sky. She clenched her thighs against Stormfly's torso and clung to the spikes on her crown for dear life. Over the past few weeks she had done was unbelievable things, but never had she imagined she would be flying with a dragon.

"Oh gods! Oh Mother of Thor!" Astrid cried when she made the mistake of looking below and seeing just how high up they really were. The Viking clutched onto Stormfly's spikes even tighter as her stomach began to flip flop. "Not so high, Stormfly! We need to find Hiccup, remember girl? We cannot let him reach the— _oh gods, I might get sick_ …" She fought to swallow a gag.

Stormfly turned her head slightly, giving Astrid the equivalent of a draconic eye-roll, but began to descend from the high altitude anyways. The Nadder skimmed over the treetops of the thick forest, keeping a sharp eye out for movement below. Meanwhile, Astrid focused on not throwing up the contents of her stomach. Suddenly, Stormfly squawked and drove down into the trees. The sudden movement caused Astrid's jaw to drop open, a scream bubbling at her lips, but the sound promptly caught in her throat when something, or rather someone, began yelling obscenities below her.

" _Oh, great Odin's ghost! I'm going to die!_ "

Astrid glanced over Stormfly's flank to see Hiccup dangling precariously by a single boot from one of Stormfly's claws. When he saw Astrid, he began to struggle to free himself even more. That is, until he realized that if he did, he would likely fall to his death. Stormfly was already steadily spiraling back up into the clouds.

" _ASTRID_! What the Hel is this?!" He bellowed frantically.

"A kidnapping!" She replied. Seeing Hiccup in such an embarrassing state made her feel a bit better about her own reaction. She forced a brave face. There was no way she would let him see that she too was scared. She had to appear confident or else he would never listen to her. "I need you to hear me out, Hiccup."

Hiccup groaned, ignoring her plea. "Why don't you just go ahead and kill me now?"

Astrid's eyes narrowed dangerously, "That can be arranged." If he wanted to be sassy, then she could too. Stormfly was a smart dragon and Astrid had taught her a few tricks. She just hoped that the Nadder would actually listen to her or else she would have a _much_ bigger problem than Hiccup spilling her secrets to the village.

"Stormfly?" The Nadder chirped. "Drop him!"

"Now wait just a—"

Stormfly complied and released Hiccup's boot from her claw. He immediately began to scream as he fell back down towards the forest below at an alarming rate. Astrid praised her dragon, "Good girl! Now, go fetch him!" To her relief, Stormfly complied and dove down after the free falling Viking.

Meanwhile, the Hiccup continued to cry out and frantically clawed at the air, desperate to stop himself from tumbling out of the sky. Astrid put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles. Hiccup's scream was much higher pitched than she ever had heard before. He really was terrified—but then again, she really could not blame him. If the situation was reversed, she would likely react the same way. Stormfly and Astrid quickly swooped down until they were just out of Hiccup's reach. He spun in haphazard circles all the while alternating between screaming obscenities and just plain screaming.

" _ASTRID!_ " He finally shrieked as the forest below them grew closer and closer. " _I'M SORRY! I'LL LISTEN TO YOU! I'LL LISTEN TO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO SAY!_ "

With a simple verbal cue from Astrid, the Nadder swooped in and grabbed Hiccup by his boot again and slowed down to a simply glide. With one hand firmly planted on Stormfly's neck for balance, Astrid reached down towards Hiccup. "You once trusted me with all your secrets, Hiccup Haddock. Please, give me— _us_ —a chance." She implored earnestly.

For a moment, she thought he might refuse her outstretched hand, as he glared at her with such contempt for several moments. But then suddenly, his harsh stare softened and he reached up for her. When their fingers interlocked, Astrid forced herself to ignore the sparks that shot up her arm. With only minor difficulty, she hoisted him up until he was able to slide behind her on Stormfly's back and wrapped his arms around her waist. He was pressed so tightly against her, that she could feel every part of him against her back. Leather armor was far more formfitting than steel. In that moment, she was very thankful he could not see the blush raging on her cheeks.

"So, what is it that you have to say?" He asked tightly.

Originally, her plan had been to corner him down on the ground and force him to listen to her story, to her reasoning. She was going to tell him everything. What Astrid had not accounted for was the apparent joy ride that Stormfly seemed to want to take them on. Sensing that her dragon actually had a plan of her own, Astrid disregarded her original strategy and chose to spontaneous option instead.

She twisted her torso slightly to look back at him and smiled reassuringly, "Just let us show you."

Hiccup grunted in what she supposed was a reluctant agreement and tightened his arms around her as they began to ascend higher into the clouds.

Her blue eyes scanned the horizon before her, careful not to look directly below. She tried to ignore the rolling of her stomach and instead focused on how beautiful late afternoon sky was. It was mostly filled with various shades of light blue, but just over the mountain ranges before them, deep oranges and bright yellow light began to peak through the clouds—and the clouds! They were so far up that Astrid could actually _see_ the low hanging clouds. They were similar to a very dense fog, but more compact. Maintaining a death grip on Stormfly's crown with one hand, she slowly reached one hand up and ran her fingers through a passing cloud, grinning widely as it broke apart at the touch of her fingertips.

Never in a million years would she have ever thought something like this was possible. As scared as she still was of the height they were at, she could not deny that riding through the clouds with Stormfly and Hiccup was not only the stupidest thing, but also the most exhilarating thing, she had ever done. The open sky and rushing wind around her cleared her mind in a way that nothing else ever had. The worries in her heart and everything that had weighed on her mind until Stormfly took to the clouds was suddenly gone, dissolved like smoke. All that was left was the feeling of the wind on her face, the pounding of her heart in her chest, and the warm feeling of Hiccup's arms around her. She could only hope that Hiccup was as enthralled with the sky as she was.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, long fingers suddenly squeezed her sides and she twisted back around to find a wide, gap-toothed grin gracing his lips. Her jaw dropped in surprise. He seemed to be taking it much better than she ever could have expected. He was _beaming_ at her. The sunlight reflected off his unruly hair, bringing out brilliant streaks of red. Her eyes eagerly scanned the rest of his face, starting with his bright green eyes, then his high cheekbones accented with freckles, his sharp jaw with just the perfect amount of stubble, the small scar on his chin, and lastly, her gaze locked back on that gap-toothed grin. It had been _years_ since she had seen anything other than a smirk on Hiccup's face. He never truly smiled anymore. Yet here he was, riding on the back of a dragon and he appeared more alive than she had ever seen.

This was a person she recognized.

This was _her_ Hiccup.

He had come a long way from the little boy who worked in the forge and wanted nothing more than to impress his father. She had loved that boy. The man who he had evolved into was different, older and more mature, than that scrawny, timid boy who had been her very best friend. Yet, he was not any less beautiful. If possible, he was even more so. He had finally grown into his own skin. In that moment, Astrid knew she was completely lost to him. Before, she had been conflicted, unsure of what she actually felt for the chief's son. Was it simply lingering infatuation from her childhood crush? Or was it something more? Somehow, up in the clouds, it all became startlingly clear to her.

She was in trouble.

"I have to admit, this is amazing. She's amazing, you're amazing." Hiccup said, not once breaking eye contact with her. She grinned shyly, cursing the blush that rose to her cheeks at the compliment. "How did you ever manage this?" He asked.

"It is sort of a long story." She replied, twisting back into her original position.

"That's okay." Hiccup leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder, "We've got all the time in the world. I hope you know I never want to ever go back down on the ground again after experiencing this." Hiccup gleefully pumped his fists in the air, "Yeah baby! This is amazing!"

She chuckled, "Be careful, I may take you up on that request."

"Tell me everything, Astrid."

And tell she did.

Her story began at the very, very beginning, with the Monstrous Nightmare that had nearly burnt her house down. She explained to Hiccup how the creature had first regarded her with curiosity before it attacked her. Then, she told him about Stormfly stumbling upon her the next day while she had been practicing with her axe. At first, Hiccup appeared more surprised by her diligent axe throwing than a dragon stumbling upon her, but then he began asking questions about Stormfly's initial behavior.

"Well, she never actually tried to approach me that very first day. We simply stared at each other, daring the other to move first. She kept making this curious squawking sound and tilting her head, like she was trying to study me. It was kind just kind of—odd, I guess. It stuck in my head all night long. That was why I was so late to the post-training meeting at _náttmál_ that first night."

Hiccup laughed, "Who are you kidding, Astrid? You're always late to _náttmál_."

"Do you want to hear the story or not?"

He nodded against her shoulder.

Astrid continued, explaining how strange it had been to train against the Deadly Nadder in the Ring the next day because all she could think about was the Nadder she had encountered in the woods. "The Nadder in the arena seemed to be intrigued by my hair. It kept sniffing at it during training, even cornered me at one point. Somehow, I just knew it was not going to hurt me, not if I did not give it a reason to. When I saw you charging for it, your sword angled towards its neck, I just—"

"Reacted and did something really stupid." He chastised playfully.

"Really stupid." It certainly was not one of her brightest moments.

He sighed wistfully, as if he were relieving the memory internally. Perhaps he was. "I was so angry with you that day, you know? For a moment, I was terrified that I wasn't going to be able to stop in time. I thought I was going to _kill_ you. All it would have taken was one slip on your part, and I could have sliced you straight through. I could not have lived with myself if I—" He stopped short, unable to finish his statement.

"I know, I-I just couldn't let you do it. That was the beginning of the end for me." Astrid moved on, not wanting to dwell on what _could_ have happened that day if Hiccup would have overpowered her. Her second meeting with Stormfly came next. Hiccup was rather surprised to find out that Stormfly apparently enjoyed chicken. "Most days I give her fish, but every once and a while, I try to steal some chicken for her. She really seems to enjoy it." Her story continued and she told him all the tricks she had learned from Stormfly that she used in the Ring. Then, at last, it came time to reveal her _other_ secret. If Hiccup had been stunned to find out about Stormfly, then he was completely gob smacked by the fact that Astrid was sneaking into the Kill Ring at night to feed the training dragons.

"What on Midgard gave you that crazy idea?!" He exclaimed.

"During the campfire, remember when Snotlout insisted that he was going to cut off the legs of every dragon with his face?" His chuckling breath tickled her neck, causing an automatic shiver to run down the length of her spine. Finally, he nodded into her shoulder, no doubt remembering how stupid his cousin had sounded while saying it. "Gobber made the comment that it is the wings and tails that you want because ' _a downed dragon is a dead dragon_.' I remembered that the night that you shot down the Night Fury, it had acted as though it was in pain. At the time, I had not seen any injuries but I was still curious. So, I snuck into the Kill Ring later that night to check on it." She twisted slightly once more, wanting to look at his face as she told him the next part. "Hiccup, when you shot down the Night Fury, you severely injured its tail. The left tail fin is gone."

She had expected some kind of emotion on the young man's face—regret, pity, guilt—but instead all she saw was carefully composed impassiveness. Astrid groaned and Hiccup shot her a quizzical look.

"You know, I cannot stand it when you make that face."

A lone eyebrow rose in confusion. "Make what face?"

"That face you make when you try to bury all your emotions from everyone. It is not the Hiccup that I knew. The Hiccup I knew was always very expressive." She replied honestly.

He frowned, "Well, the Hiccup you knew was a pathetic excuse of a Viking."

"That is not true." Her face twisted into a stern glare and she adamantly shook her head. "That is not true at all."

She felt a heavy sigh against her back and knew he did not agree.

"I would like a change in subject matter, please." He muttered sarcastically.

"Fine, but what do you make of the Night Fury's tail?"

She was curious to know what he thought. How he felt, if anything.

"I don't—I don't know, Astrid. All of this is a lot to take in. Am I sorry that I shot down the dragon that has been a nuisance to a village for years? No, I am not. Am I sorry that I injured it? I guess I can't really say because up until an hour ago, I was vying for the honor to kill it in the Ring." He paused when he saw the way that her lips twitched. "Why do I feel that is not the answer that you wanted to hear?"

She anxiously bit her lip. "Dragons are not the dangerous, horrible monsters we think they are. They are intelligent animals that are just acting on their animalistic instincts to survive. If you go after a bear with a crossbow and spears, how do you think it will react? It will fight back. Well, so will a dragon."

"So why do they attack our village?"

"Is it not obvious? They are after our food. The seemingly random attacks are really not all that random. They are actually strategically attacking the places that they know will have the most food? You do not see them actively attacking the forge, the armory, or anything like that. No, they initially go after the livestock and our food. If they really wanted to cripple us like we think they do, they would first go after our means of defense."

Hiccup chuckled, "I suppose it is sort of like trying to get between Snotlout and a bowl of mutton. That is a mistake you only make once."

"Exactly."

No more words were needed between the two Vikings. They allowed the breathtaking view of the sky to distract them from conflicting thoughts and serious matters. All the while, Stormfly flew leisurely, slowly spinning in lazy loops and spirals and bursting through clouds. Astrid made sure however that they kept to the sea stacks on the far side of the island, out of sight of the village. She and Hiccup spoke very little during the rest of the flight. Time lost its meaning as they flew. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, night was closing in on them. The blue sky swiftly began to fade into deep reds, yellows, and purples. Astrid looked at the setting sun and sighed. They would need to return to the village before they were missed.

She patted Stormfly's flank, "Take us down to the grove, girl."

The Nadder complied, drawing in her wings. Suddenly, they were plunging out of the sky and skimming the very tops of the tallest trees on Berk. Within minutes, Astrid spotted the small grove that she had come to revere as one of her favorite places on Berk. Stormfly circled above twice before coming to a calm landing. Once they were safely on the ground, Hiccup immediately hopped off Stormfly's back and ran his hands through his windblown hair. It looked even more unruly than usual, but somehow, it suited him. Astrid did not even what to know what a mess her own braid was. It would likely take hours to comb through the ratty mess later.

"Would you like some assistance, milady?" Hiccup teased, holding his hand out to her chivalrously.

Astrid quickly swatted his hand away, to which Hiccup merely chuckled. It was almost as if he had expected her refusal. She was as stubborn of a Viking as they came. She would dismount the dragon on her own. Ignoring Hiccup's soft laughter, she clumsily swung her legs over Stormfly's back and hopped down. But the moment that her feet touched the ground, her legs gave out and she unceremoniously tumbled down onto the grass below. She groaned with embarrassment. Of course she would have to fall in front of one of the most agile Vikings she had ever known. At times, it still amazed her how far Hiccup had come from the gawky boy he had been nearly five years before. It gave her hope that perhaps one day, she would grow out of her clumsiness as well. When Hiccup offered her his hand, she did not refuse his chivalry a second time. The Gods had to be laughing at her. She rose to her feet with Hiccup's help and only let go once she felt steady enough to stand on her own. The difference in standing on solid ground and being up in the air was startling. It made her head feel funny.

They did not linger in the grove for much longer. The sun was quickly slipping from the sky, sending dynamic red light through the tall trees and casting long shadows on the ground. It was decided that they would leave separately, Hiccup first and then Astrid would follow a few minutes later. They wanted to attract as little attention to themselves as possible. Just before he left, Hiccup nervously asked if he could approach Stormfly. His request was almost shy, timid, and unsure, a complete change from the confident behavior he had displayed while they were in the air.

Astrid cocked her hip out slightly and shrugged, "Do not look at me. That is not my choice to make. You'll have to ask her."

Hiccup cautiously approached Stormfly, crouching low to the ground and holding out his palms out to her. Astrid's eyebrows rose to her hairline in awe, only able to marvel at his nimble movements. She had not had to instruct him on how to approach a dragon, he had figured it out all on his own and was even more poised at it that she was. Stormfly cocked her head curiously at him, sniffing and pondering whether or not to let him approach her. After several tense moments of Hiccup waiting patiently, Stormfly reached her muzzle out towards his palm and bridged the gap between them.

"Astrid was right. _Everything we know about you guys is wrong_." His hand scratched at a group of scales around Stormfly's jaw. "Thank you, Stormfly. It was a great honor to fly with you this afternoon. You are an excellent flier." He added with a grin. Stormfly chirped happily, clearly pleased with the compliment.

Astrid could see the truth and sincerity in his eyes. He was beginning to change his mind about dragons and all it had taken was one flight. Her mind went into overdrive. If the rest of the tribe could also be convinced, the possibilities would be endless. If they could tame the wild dragons instead of fighting them, the village would be saved! However, just as the thought crossed her mind, so did the impossibility of it actually coming to pass. Hiccup had only listened to her because he trusted her, the rest of the village did not share his sentiments. They would never accept that dragons were anything more than bloodthirsty beasts. It was hopeless to think otherwise.

"Come on, we need to be getting back." Astrid reminded him, eyeing the setting sun warily. Hiccup nodded, giving Stormfly one last scratch. Just as he was about to leave the grove, she was struck with a sudden idea. As he moved to pass by her, she latched onto his arm. "Hiccup, wait!" She blurted out impulsively. "Will you meet me in the Kill Ring tonight? Please?"

He appeared startled by the request. It took a few moments for him to give his answer but when he did, he was smiling. "Of course, Astrid. I will see you at _náttmál_." His grin was infectious as always. "I will save you a seat. Just, try not to be too late." He teased and with that, disappeared into the forest.

Astrid watched him go with a wistful smile.

—

True to his word, Hiccup did save Astrid a seat at their table in the Great Hall.

She was not even _that_ late this time. Just marginally past due.

As she slid into the vacant spot next to Hiccup, he pushed a plate of chicken towards her with a knowing look on his face. A smile rose to her lips when she realized what he was doing. He remembered that Stormfly liked chicken, but now was not the time to be stealing chicken from the table. She gently shook her head, aware of all the eyes that were suddenly upon her. The other recruits all appeared baffled by her choice to sit next to Hiccup considering they had been at each other's throats just hours earlier. If Hiccup noticed their stares, he pointedly ignored them and generously poured Astrid a drink. She accepted the drink but met his gaze uncertainly. His lips twitched and a mischievous glint appeared in his green orbs. Then it hit her.

He knew _exactly_ what he was doing.

He was playing them.

Tuffnut was the first one to speak up. "Uh, weren't you guys like, about to kill each other earlier?" He reminded them dubiously. "Or did I just imagine that whole screaming match?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Hiccup replied, his face carefully composed.

Ruffnut abruptly dropped her fork and Astrid brought her hand to her mouth to hide her smile. Tuffnut leaned across the table and whispered behind his hand to his twin, "Did I really imagine it all?" All Ruffnut could manage was a slow shake of her head. She was just as bewildered as he was.

Before the other teens had a chance to comment on Astrid and Hiccup's miraculous make up, Gobber appeared at the head of their table. "Astrid, yer on time for once." He remarked, to which the blonde smiled nervously in response. She waited for him to comment on Hiccup's accusation in the Ring that morning but surprisingly, it never came. In fact, other than his initial address, he ignored her entirely. "Now, Fishlegs, if you would turn to page thirty-two, we will look over the chapter on the Monstrous Nightmare." **[1]** The blond boy complied, pushing the Book of the Dragons over to the peg-legged blacksmith soon after.

When Gobber began to read from the passage provided, Astrid promptly tuned him out. It did not escape her notice that the other teens seemed to be doing the same. Even Fishlegs appeared to be in his own little world. With all of them distracted, it gave her the perfect opportunity. When she believed no one was looking, Astrid swiped a nice sized chicken leg from the platter that Hiccup had placed in front of her and stuffed it in her pouch at her side. She knew a certain earthy colored Nadder that might enjoy it.

Just when she thought she was in the clear, something pinched at her side. She gaped at the source, the handsome redhead next to her.

"I saw that." Hiccup murmured, his fingertips lingering at her waist.

Astrid swatted his hand away with a smirk. "You saw nothing."

Just as she was about to turn back to her own meal, Ruffnut's suspicious stare caught her attention across the table. When their eyes met, Ruffnut raised a lone blonde eyebrow. With that single gesture, the female twin made it clear that she had seen the exchange between them. Astrid sighed and dropped her eyes back to her plate knowing that Ruffnut would certainly be cornering her as soon as _náttmál_ was over. So much for getting in some rest before meeting Hiccup later that evening.

The rest of _náttmál_ passed by in a bit of a blur. Once Gobber dismissed them, the teens filed out of the Great Hall in pairs—Tuffnut and Snotlout first, Fishlegs and Hiccup next, and lastly Astrid and Ruffnut. The two females let the boys go on ahead of them, lingering around the bottom steps in front of the Great Hall. As soon as the boys were far enough away, Ruffnut plopped down on a stair and roughly pulled Astrid down next to her with an expectant expression.

"Start talking, Astrid." She demanded.

The other blonde rolled her eyes and stole Hiccup's elusive retort from earlier, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That's not going to work on me." Ruffnut retorted with an offended glare. "I'm not as stupid as my brother. Hiccup went after you when you ran off this morning. What happened? One minute he is accusing you of cheating in dragon training and the next minute you two are flirting at the table."

"We were not flirting!" Astrid bristled.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "Sure looked that way to me. He even saved you a seat— _how cute_."

A hot blush rose on Astrid's cheeks. "It's not like that." She sighed. "Look, he followed me out into the woods and apologized. That's it. Nothing else happened." It was a lie, but there was no way in Hel she was going to tell Ruffnut about Stormfly, no matter how good of friends they were. Hiccup knowing was bad enough.

"I do not believe that for a second." Ruffnut deadpanned. "I saw the way that he looked at you, like you were sharing some secret."

The two women then fell silent for an extended period of time. Ruffnut was not satisfied with her friend's answer, but also knew Astrid well enough to know not to push. However, her words had given Astrid something to think about. As the other blonde slowly became lost in her own thoughts, Ruffnut busied herself braiding stray pieces of grass together until Astrid was ready to talk.

The Thorsten twin's accusation replayed over and over in Astrid's head. How was she possibly supposed to explain that the _secret_ she and Hiccup shared was not _romance_ , but a _dragon_? Perhaps it was better for Ruffnut to believe what she wanted to believe than to try and deny it all.

Or better yet, maybe it was time to turn the tables on her friend.

"Ruff, can I ask you something sort of personal?" The other girl appeared surprised by the sudden request, but nodded nonetheless. "For the longest time I remember you denying the affections of both Snotlout and Fishlegs. A year ago, you seemed determined to remain a shield maiden than end up with either of them. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, you admitted that you did not mind Fishleg's advances. Not minding grew into welcoming those advances and then last week you tell me that the two of you kissed at Gothi's! What changed?"

As she spoke, Ruffnut slowly dropped her head, but not quickly enough for Astrid to miss how her friend's face dropped from simple curiosity to shame and guilt. For a moment, she wondered if she overstepped some kind of personal bound. Then, after several tense moments, Ruffnut's glassy gaze leveled back on her. Astrid inhaled sharply, surprised by the intensity of emotions she found in her friend's eyes. Ruffnut was not one for being overly emotional. She, like Astrid, tried her damnedest to keep her more _delicate_ feelings and thoughts to herself. To see the tough, headstrong girl so vulnerable before her was eye opening.

"Do you really want to know what changed?" Her friend finally asked softly.

Astrid swallowed thickly, not sure that she did anymore. Not if it caused Ruffnut to look like _that_. "I—if you don't want to talk about it we do not have to. I was just…curious. I never should have asked."

Ruffnut shook her head. "It's fine. I just—I was a fool, Astrid. A damned fool." It was a few moments before she spoke again. Astrid remained silent, determined not to push any more than she already had. "It happened a few months ago, during the _sumar_ feast. **[2]** Fishlegs found me early that morning before the feast began and presented me a woven crown of flowers."

The breath Astrid was holding in left her in a rush. It did not take much to guess where Ruffnut's tale was going. The first day of _Harpa_ celebrated the arrival of _sumar_. The village held a grand sacrificial feast that began mid-morning with dancing, eating, drinking, and singing in the village square and lasted well into the evening. It was the one time of the year that the women of the village displayed their more…feminine qualities. It was tradition in their village for the husbands to present their wives a grand handwoven crowns of flowers to wear for the duration of the celebration. Sometimes the tradition was also followed by the younger Vikings, in that a young male would present a young female that caught his eye with either a bouquet or small crown of flowers. **[3]**

Astrid herself had many fond memories of the _sumar_ feast in her younger years. Her early memories of the _sumar_ feast were filled with a shy young boy with freckles clumsily weaving blue wildflowers into her long blonde locks year after year. However, as she grew older, the feast had become a bitter disappointment. _In recent years, her hair had been completely void of flowers_. But she hastily pushed that thought aside and thought back to the most recent feast. She could not remember the female twin sporting a crown of flowers at the celebration.

"I do not remember you wearing flowers at the feast." She voiced.

"That's because I didn't." Ruffnut replied bitterly. "At first I was stunned. You should have seen it, Astrid. The crown was beautiful. He had woven dried grasses, daisies, meadowsweet, lavender, and orchids together. He looked so—so happy, even hopeful, when he presented it to me. I didn't know what to say, and then my idiot brother found us." She began savagely tearing at the blades of grass near her feet. "Tuff, being the insensitive moron that he is, looked at me and says, ' _You hate flowers_!' I was a fool. I still couldn't find the words. I couldn't tell him how beautiful it was. Fishlegs was crushed, he thought I hated it. He left and took the crown with him. I found it later as we were leaving for the feast, discarded just outside my home. It was ruined, beyond salvageable."

A memory came back to Astrid. She had seen both Fishlegs and Ruffnut sulking separately off by themselves during the feast. At the time, she had thought nothing of it but now it made sense.

"Did you speak with him that night?"

Ruffnut shook her head. "No, it was several weeks before I was able to get him alone again to talk. He avoided me for quite a while. I think my supposed rejection was a hit to his pride." Suddenly, she smirked. "Sound familiar to you?" There was deliberate prodding in her tone.

"Nope." Astrid refused to take the bait.

"All I am saying," She started slyly, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she turned the tables back onto Astrid. "Is that Hiccup is acting a lot like Fishlegs did in the beginning of our confusing relationship. Do not be so quick to dismiss his affections, I believe they are real."

Ruffnut then stood up and squeezed Astrid's shoulder pointedly before disappearing into the night, leaving the other blonde alone to mull over her words.

—

Ruffnut's parting words cycled in her mind well into the late night hours.

Even after she entered her own home and sat down next to the fire with her mother to share their day with one another, as was their nightly ritual, her friend's words never strayed far from her thoughts. Had she not been so distracted, she would have noticed how frigidity her mother was. They first spoke of the raid the night before and Astrid's first kill, but Astrid quickly steered the conversation elsewhere. When Herleva began to prattle on about something that had happened in the market that morning—something about a fainting yak—Astrid was only half listening.

It seemed impossible. It had to be impossible. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third could not, would not, return her feelings. They were just _acquaintances_ that now scared a treacherous secret. They were not even really _friends_. They could never, would never, be anything more than that.

Eventually, Herleva noticed that her daughter's attention was clearly elsewhere. "Am I boring ye, daughter?"

It was enough to recapture Astrid's attention.

"No!" A light blush bloomed on her cheeks. "I just—I have a lot on my mind."

"Yes, that is quite apparent." Herleva nodded, her lips pursing slightly. "It would not have anything to do with yer argument with the chief's son this morning, would it?" If anything, the flush on Astrid's cheeks darkened. How could she have thought that her mother would not find out about her and Hiccup's argument in the Kill Ring that morning?

"How did—who told you?"

"Gobber came to me this afternoon."

Her gaze fell to her lap, unable to meet her mother's harsh stare. The disapproval radiated off of Herleva in waves. Her mother was generally a gentle person, not one to anger easily. There was only one thing that could instantly infuriate Herleva Hofferson and that was the state of their family honor. Astrid could tell from the tone of her voice that her mother was just barely holding back her ire. She also knew exactly what her mother was thinking. To be publicly accused of cheating in dragon training was just another slight against their already tarnished reputation. It was a _Haddock's_ words against the words of a _Hofferson_. No amount of denial on her part would change the villagers' minds if Hiccup's allegation came to light.

"He did not mean it." Astrid argued bitterly, wanting her mother to understand. "They were nothing more than jealous words. He followed me after I left and apologized."

Herleva sighed, her hand coming to rest of her forehead. "It matters not if he meant the words, only that he voiced them and in front of many witnesses at that. They cannot be taken back." Her voice sounded tired. "Gobber and I talked at length this afternoon of how to proceed with the matter. Last night, ye and the other recruits proved that ye are capable of protecting yourselves and the tribe. I could not be prouder of that, Astrid. It is more than I was hoping for when I first asked the chief to place ye in training with the others. That being said, there is no more that Gobber can teach ye. The actual 'training' portion is over now, starting tomorrow Gobber has decided that they will start the competition. Given Hiccup's accusations of ye cheating, we both believe it is best to pull ye from the competition. "

The young Viking's head snapped up, her eyes widening in incredulity. Why had Gobber not said anything when she saw him not even an hour ago? She ran over the training meeting at _náttmál_ in her mind. She had not thought anything of it at the time, but the peg-legged blacksmith had barely said a word to her, other than a remark that she was on time for once. Her lower lip began to tremble against her will, her eyes forming desperate tears. They could not do this! Yet she saw the resolute expression on her mother's face. The decision had been made. No amount of arguing or pleading would change Herleva's mind, but just like her mother, Astrid also was not one to give up so easily. It was a trait they shared.

"What? You cannot be serious, mother! This is completely unfair, I deserve as much of a chance to win as everyone else." She croaked, trying anyway. "And I-I am not cheating!" At least not _technically,_ but her mother did not need to know that. "Hiccup will attest to that. He will! I am sure of it! There is no need to pull me from the competition. We can fix this."

Her mother shook her head, an apologetic grimace forming on her lips. "No Astrid. It has already been decided. What's done is done."

That was the final straw.

The overwhelming day began to take its toll on the young Viking. She slumped in her chair, the fire burning out of her like a torch in a harsh wind. Sensing that her daughter wanted to be alone to nurse her battered pride and shattered dream, Herleva rose from her seat. She gave Astrid one last rueful look before slipping quietly out of the room. Once Herleva was gone, Astrid stared bitterly at the flames dancing in the hearth before her. What had started out as such a promising evening had literally gone up in smoke. It was not her mother's fault, she knew that. Her mother was only acting in what she believed was Astrid's best interest. She was trying to preserve what little honor the Hofferson name had left. She was trying to protect Astrid's reputation. The sullen Viking understood her mother's reasoning, but that did not mean that she had to like it. Still, for the sake of her mother, she tried to look at the positives.

She could spend more time with Stormfly.

She would have extra time to train with her axe.

She could learn more about dragons, perhaps even discovering the reason they attack Berk.

She would not have to worry about harming another dragon.

She would not have to kill the Night Fury.

Astrid froze, suddenly realizing the significance of her last thought. If _she_ did not win the honor of fighting the Night Fury, _someone_ _else_ would. Hiccup. Her Hiccup would be chosen to slay the Night Fury, she was sure of it. Hiccup seemed to like Stormfly, but he held no such sentiments for the Night Fury. He had even admitted that he felt nothing for injuring the Night Fury when he shot it down. If given the chance to kill the beast, would he take it? In his current mindset, Astrid was sure that he would. He would do anything to gain the approval of his father. But, if Hiccup was able to _bond_ with the creature—

Slowly, a plan began to formulate in her mind.

It was stupid, perhaps even a bit crazy, but it just might work.

* * *

 **[1] I will shamelessly admit that I wanted to sneak in a random Harry Potter reference here. It would have been the perfect opportunity to use "turn to page three hundred and ninety-four" but sadly, I realized that the Book of Dragons likely was not almost four hundred pages in length. Well, at least not until after Berk made peace with them and began studying them closer. (Note: Oh the bitter irony of this footnote. :'( I just want to point out that I wrote the first draft of this chapter and consequently, this footnote almost a year ago. Today as I was editing the final version, I was _so_ close to going back up and changing it to Snape's words anyway in honor of Alan Rickman. May he rest in peace. I honestly cannot think of a time I was more devastated over an actor's death...) **

**[2] The Old Norse calendar divided the year into only two seasons,** _ **vintr/vetr**_ **(winter depending if you go by Old East Norse or Old West Norse—yeah, through writing this story I have found that there is a lot of variation when it comes to Old Norse…) and** _ **sumar**_ **(summer). The first day of** _ **sumar**_ **was traditionally celebrated on the first day of** _ **Harpa**_ **, the first of the six** _ **sumar**_ **months (in our modern calendars this would be sometime in mid-April).**

 **[3] The first day of** _ **sumar**_ **was also called "Girl Day" as the entire month of** _ **Harpa**_ **was dedicated to Girls. This depiction is probably not historically accurate but** _ **I personally**_ **imagine this celebration of the first day of** _ **sumar**_ **to be somewhat like traditional European May Day celebrations. Fishlegs presenting Ruffnut with a woven crown of flowers is a nod towards the later English tradition of crowning of a May Queen. Fun Fact: Men, women, and boys also have months dedicated to them and during these months are treated with special honor. Men during **_**Þorri**_ **, the fourth winter month, women during** _ **Gói**_ **, the fifth winter month, and boys during** _ **Einmánuður**_ **, the last month of winter.**

* * *

 **Well guys, this is what you have been anxiously awaiting for the past week!** **I hope that it has lived up to your expectations.**

 **The Romantic Flight sequence was seriously so much fun to write. But as I said in my last author's note and in some of the review replies, I doubt that it went the way that many of you were expecting. Hiccup, Astrid, and Stormfly never found the dragon's nest. How do you think that little change to the canon storyline is going to affect things in the future? Also, many of you mentioned in chapter four that you really enjoyed the girly moment/springs scene between Astrid and Ruffnut. Here is some more Ruffstrid girl-time for you all! The _sumar_ feast is going to be a very small plotline that will be mentioned/carried through all the way until the end of the story and has quite a significance to Hiccstrid in this fic. And last but not least, Astrid has been pulled from the dragon training competition. This one action on her mother/Gobber's part is going to have several repercussions. Astrid was _never_ meant to completely take over Hiccup's role as "Dragon Master"-she is the catalyst to get the ball rolling for him in this AU. Things are starting to snowball. :D I hope you all are willing to stick around for the ride!**

 **What do you suppose Astrid's plan is here for Hiccup and "the Night Fury" aka " _Toothless-who-has-not-been-officially-named-yet_ "? I am curious to hear your ideas of what is going to happen in the next chapter. Feel free to ask questions if you have any. I am sure that many reviewers can attest that I love answering them and my replies are often pretty lengthy (or as lengthy as I can get without giving out spoilers). ****I also hope that the ending of this chapter is better than the last, it is not as _much_ of a cliffhanger. ;) Sorry about that. I was not trying to be cruel, it was just the best place to stop chapter six. **

**A review for the last chapter got me thinking that the original summary really did not fit or even give justice to the plot of this story. I have been brainstorming on that (mostly unsuccessfully) ever since** **and will probably continue to do so until I finally get it to something that I like. So do not be alarmed if you see it change like ten more times..** **. _heh_. **

**Again, I want to thank each and every one of you for sending in such positive reviews and for reading this story.  
**

 **\- Mari.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** :

Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a dragon in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid.

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Note : A small tweak has been made to the beginning of the chapter due to an oversight on my part. **

**Thanks to the kind _Guest_ reviewer who made me aware of it. The edit was made 01/22/2016 at 6:08PM CT.**

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 **Chapter Eight**

It was late, but not nearly as late as what time she normally snuck out to feed the dragons.

A few hardy villagers still perused the streets, so she made sure to keep her steps light, nearly silent, as she weaved in between houses and snuck up the hill that led to the Chief's hall. It had been years since she had last been to Hiccup's hall, but she could recall every detail of his home with startling clarity. The house was roomy from what she remembered, complete with a grand front room and a private washroom. She had always been jealous of the private washroom. She did not have such a luxury in her own hall. Also unlike most of the other houses on Berk, the Chief's contained a loft. The loft belonged entirely to Hiccup and the last that she had seen of it when she was fourteen, it had been filled to the brim with all sorts of inventions, sketches, weapons, designs, and mechanics. She doubted much had changed over the years.

There was no way she could just go up and knock on the front door, it was in the view of the entire village. If someone saw her visiting the Chief's son—late at night, alone—questions would be asked, questions that would put her reputation into jeopardy. Her only chance was the window to the loft. It was on the back side of the house and faced the forest. She paused just under the window, noting the closed shutters with a small frown. How was she supposed to get his attention with the window closed? At first she tried a low whistle. Perhaps he would become curious of the sound and come to the window on his own. When that did not work, she then tried hurling a few small pebbles at the closed shutters. Still nothing. The shutters remained closed, no russet hair or green eyes in sight. It was late, she knew that. There was always a chance that Hiccup had forgotten his promise to meet up with her and had fallen asleep.

She had to find a way up. She had to speak with him.

If only Hiccup's room was on the ground floor instead of the loft. The window loomed several feet above her. How on all of Midgard had he managed to sneak in and out of his hall so easily when they were younger? With an agitated huff, she glared at rounded wooden planks in front of her. It was impossible. But just as she was about to give up, a memory of her younger years forced its way to the surface.

 _Twelve year old Hiccup sported a scrape on his cheek and a limp when she bumped into him in the market place. She frowned upon seeing it, looped her arm through his and immediately began to lead him to her house to tend to the nasty gash. Naturally, he protested the entire way. She forced him down on a chair at the kitchen table, then filled up a bowl with clean water. He hissed as she pressed a damp rag to his cheek, attempting to wash away to dried blood and dirt that remained._

" _Do I even want to know what happened?" She asked him exasperatedly as he squirmed under her touch. "You weren't hunting trolls again, were you?"_

 _His face flushed scarlet._

" _NO!" He bellowed defensively._

 _She frowned again. "Hic, you know trolls are not real. Gobber made it all up." He purposely avoided her critical stare and she knew that she had him. Leave it to Hiccup to believe trolls were a real thing and then be stupid enough to try to hunt one down. "Did you fall out of a tree?" She prodded, genuinely curious as to how he acquired his injuries._

 _He shook his head, "No. I-I couldn't sneak out the front door because Dad fell asleep by the hearth. So I climbed out my window." She opened her mouth to berate him for doing something so stupid and reckless but he cut her off before she could utter a word. "D-Don't look at me like that, Astrid! I knew what I was doing. I have done it hundreds of times!"_

" _Clearly you are not as good as you think you are." She jabbed, gesturing to his scraped up face. "Did you try to jump from your window?"_

" _No, I climbed." He admitted sheepishly, running a hand through his wild red hair. "I was about half way down when my foot slipped on a plank and well, you can sort of guess what happened next."_

Her blue eyes examined the rounded planks that made up the hall's walls with a closer detail. The roundness of the logs would give a little bit of leverage, but climbing up the side of the house would be no less dangerous than climbing up the face of a cliff. Still, she had no other option. Taking a deep breath, she wedged her boot between two planks and heaved herself up with shaky hands.

It was official. She was borderline crazy.

Her arms were shaking by the time she reached the top. Then came the hard part. She willed herself not to look down. Making sure that she had both feet firmly planted against two planks, Astrid used what little upper body strength she had to pull herself up onto the small window ledge of the loft and knocked against the closed shutters with her elbow. Hopefully, Hiccup would hear her and open the window quickly. Perspiration began to form on her brow and she could feel her cheeks heat up with exertion. She was not sure how much longer she could hold on to the ledge.

But to her utter relief, she finally heard a small shuffle of movement from within the loft. She lowered herself down from the ledge as one of the shutters cracked open and a head of auburn hair of hair poked out. Hiccup's fatigued jade eyes widened when he caught sight of the blonde Viking clinging precariously to side of his house.

" _Astrid_! What in Loki's name do you think you are doing?!" He hissed.

Her cheeks flushed once more, this time in embarrassment. She felt rather silly now.

"Hiccup, I—"

The rest of her answer was stolen from her lips as all breath sharply left her lungs. Before she knew exactly what was happening, Hiccup was leaning down out of window and reaching for her. Dazed, all she could go was limply latch onto his shoulders as he hooked his arms under her armpits and hoisted her up into his room. Unfortunately, her foot caught on the ledge in her stupefied state and Hiccup stumbled under the sudden give. He tumbled backwards onto the floor, leaving Astrid hanging unceremoniously half in the window and half out. The force of the ledge digging into her stomach was enough for Astrid to heave herself the rest of the way into Hiccup's room by herself. Once safely inside, she observed the space around her with a small smile and came to the conclusion that not much had changed in four years. The Pride of Berk's room was as messy as ever and filled with even _more_ stuff than she remembered.

Hiccup pulled himself off the floor and regarded her with a shocked expression, as if finally realizing that she was actually there. "You-you, are in my _room_. What on Odin's green Midgard are you doing in my house? Scaling the side of the wall? What were you thinking? You could have seriously hurt yourself!" He ranted in a hushed tone, his hands flailing all over the place as they typically did when he got worked up over something. "Gobber came over after _náttmál_ and fell asleep by the hearth! If he wakes up and hears you he will—"

"They pulled me out of dragon training." Astrid interrupted bluntly, unable to look him in the eye for fear that he would see the raw emotion that lay behind them. But hearing that Gobber was in fact sitting downstairs made her very thankful she had not knocked on the front door. That would have been hard to explain.

"T-they what?!" He sputtered loudly. She raised a finger to her lips, reminding him to lower his voice. "Sorry, I know. I just, who did? Your mother? _Why_? Why would she do that?"

"Because of what you said this morning in the Ring. After training, Gobber went to speak with my mother. I think he was trying to warn her of possible backlash if word got out of my supposed _cheating_." She spat the word out like bile. "They discussed several options and eventually, my mother decided to pull me out of the competition to avoid sullying our reputation even more than it already is. Considering he was here alone with you this evening, I'm surprised he did not tell you."

"Oh gods, Astrid!" His eyes widened in horror, as he realized just what his meaningless, jealous words that morning had caused. He sat down heavily on the pelts covering his bed and ran his hands over his tired face. "I'm so sorry! I never meant for this to happen. I _know_ how much winning the competition would mean to you."

"What's done is done." She responded bitterly, mimicking her mother's earlier choice of words.

Hiccup shook his head, "No. No, we can find a way to fix this. I will talk to your mother…or someone…or something…" Astrid raised a skeptical eyebrow, not entirely sure where he was going with his lackluster argument. His eyes rose to meet hers and she was taken aback by the determination she saw in them. "We will fix this, Astrid. I will not let you suffer for something that I said because I was frustrated and jealous. It was incredibly selfish, please forgive me. You deserve the chance to earn back your family's honor just as much as I deserve the chance to impress my father."

She gasped as the weight of his words hit her. She had been right, he _was_ jealous of her success. But that did not matter anymore, they had more important things to worry about than Hiccup's lapse of judgment.

"Perhaps it is for the best. We both know I am not going to kill that dragon." Astrid muttered, finally coming to sit beside Hiccup on his bed. She ran her hand nervously over the soft furs. "But, you do have a point. My chance was stolen from me because of what you said—"

" _Thank_ _you_ for summing that up." He interrupted cynically.

Her eyes narrowed at his sarcasm. "You owe me, Haddock."

"I know." He replied. She stared at him expectantly. His head tilted slightly when he caught the gleam in her eyes. "I take it that you already have something in mind?"

A wry smirk twisted its way onto her lips. "You could say that."

—

"Remind me again why we are sneaking into the Kill Ring in the middle of the night?"

"I would just like to point out that technically you agreed to this _before_ I told you that I was pulled from training. Now be quiet! Someone will hear us."

"I am starting to feel like this is just coercion to force me to do your bidding." Without thinking, she reached over and punched his shoulder as hard as she could. It really was not all that forceful of a hit but it still had its desired effect. Hiccup groaned, releasing a rush of air and dropped the basket of fish he was carrying as per Astrid's request and brought his hand up to the spot where she hit him. "Why would you _do_ that?!" He hissed.

Astrid chuckled and turned to her companion with mirthful eyes, "You are just as whiney now as you were when we were kids." She teased.

Hiccup huffed indignantly but otherwise did not respond.

The two Vikings passed under the main gate, quietly making their way over to the dragon cages on the far side of the arena. Astrid paused in front of the first cage, the Nadder's, and motioned for Hiccup to stand back out of immediate sight. Hiccup dutifully dropped the basket of fish near her feet and stepped back. Once he was an acceptable distance away from the cage, Astrid pulled on the lever mechanism to open the cage. The stone door rose, revealing the bipedal dragon imprisoned inside. The Nadder chirped happily upon seeing the familiar blonde, immediately rushing towards the gate to be fed. After a few moments of scrounging around her pouch, she dug out the chicken leg she had smuggled from _náttmál_ and tossed it through the bars of the cell, all the while cooing comforting words to the green scaled beast. She was sure that the dragon would not take kindly to Hiccup's presence and therefore, wanted it to be as calm as possible before introducing them.

"Yes, I brought you chicken! You like that?" Astrid exclaimed as the Nadder bobbed its head excitedly. "Don't tell the others, okay? I don't want them to think I am playing favorites." The dragon squawked in agreement. "Now will you do something for me? I brought a friend with me tonight. I think you will recognize him. He wants to say hello but I need you to relax, he will not hurt you or any of the other dragons. Give him a chance. Okay?"

The Nadder nibbled curiously at the bars of the cage, its yellow eyes darting around in search of the newcomer. Taking that as a sign of agreement, Astrid turned and motioned for Hiccup to come forward. Slowly, Hiccup emerged from the Nadder's blind spot so that it could see him fully. Unsurprisingly, the dragon's pupils narrowed upon seeing the Chief's son. A distinct rattling sound started behind the cell bars, a sign that the Nadder felt threatened by Hiccup's presence. Astrid stepped forward, blocking the Nadder's view of Hiccup so that it was forced to look at her instead. Reaching out with confident fingers, she scratched at the sensitive scales near the dragon's jaw. It purred contently as she murmured words of reassurance.

"This is a bad idea, Astrid. Maybe I should just go." Hiccup muttered uncomfortably.

"No!" She cursed that the word came out much more desperate than she meant it to. "No, you should stay. You just need to show the Nadder that you are not a threat. Just like you did with Stormfly."

A shaky hand rose to rub at the back of his neck, "Am I going to have to do this with _all_ of the dragons here because—"

" _Hiccup_."

"—we are going to be here all night otherwise."

"Stop being a baby and get over here!" She spat irritably.

He was not getting out of this. He owed her.

Startled by her fierce tone— _since when did Astrid Hofferson strike fear into the hearts of anyone_ —Hiccup scrambled over to the cage. The Nadder's tail rattled slightly when it saw the redheaded Viking again, but a few comforting scratches from Astrid placated it enough for Hiccup to come within a few feet of the testy beast. Without taking her hand off the Nadder's snout, she reached back with her free hand and took Hiccup's into her own. She felt him tense at her touch but she deliberately ignored it and brought his hand up to cover hers as she slowly rubbed comforting circles on the dragon's jaw. His hand felt clammy against hers but after a few tense moments, he relaxed and his fingers wove into hers with purpose. The two Vikings ran their interlocked hands across the reptile's jaw, working as one. The dragon's pupils shrunk but the rattling sound fell silent.

It was progress.

"See, no one is going to hurt you." She murmured to the uneasy dragon. "Hiccup is just as scared as you." Said Viking huffed something under his breath that sounded remarkably like, _I am not scared_ , but she was so focused on ignoring the tingles caused by his hand on hers and calming the Nadder that she paid his retort little mind. Eventually, the Nadder let out a soft croon and Astrid smiled, knowing that the hard part was over. She twisted her head slightly to look back at Hiccup. "Remember what you did in the woods with Stormfly this afternoon? How you put your palm to her snout? I want you to do that again to this Nadder."

He nodded, his brows bunching in determination. They dropped their hands from one another and Astrid stepped back as the Pride of Berk lowered himself into a dragon-like crouch, keeping one foot behind the other. His movements forward were slow, so not to startle the now calm dragon. His outreached hand momentarily froze when he was just barely out of the Sharp Class dragon's reach. **[1]** The Nadder tilted its head and released a series of clicking noises that Astrid recognized as a sign of curiousness. Hiccup then lowered his head, careful not to make direct eye contact. The dragon stretched its neck forward as far as the bars of the cell allowed and sniffed at the outreached palm.

Astrid's hands clenched at her sides in anticipation. _Come on, come on!_

When the green Nadder finally bridged the gap between itself and Hiccup, nuzzling it's maw into Hiccup's palm, she had to fight down the girly squeal threatening to burst forth from her lips. The last thing she needed was for the high pitched sound to startle the dragon after they had worked so hard to calm it. Instead, she bit her lip and clenched her fists even harder. A rumbling sound came from the back of the Nadder's throat as it pushed itself as close to Hiccup as the gate allowed. Hiccup turned and looked to Astrid questionably, not sure what the sound meant. She smiled softly, "It is okay. Stormfly makes that sound when she is happy or wants something from me, and I think I know what this dragon wants."

Reaching to the basket at her side, Astrid pulled out a massive cod and whistled softly to get the Nadder's attention. Its head snapped up, yellow beady eyes locking on the fish in her hand. She smirked knowingly and turned to Hiccup, "Go ahead, just slide it through the bars."

Hiccup reluctantly took the cod from her grasp and did as she instructed. Before the fish was even half way through the bars of the cells, the Nadder leant down and closed its beak around its food. Hiccup startled at the sudden movement to which Astrid could only chuckle quietly. It was so strange seeing the chief's son so out of his element and unsure of himself. Once again, his actions reminded Astrid of his younger self. It was easier to be around him when he was acting more like the boy that she _knew_ instead of the man he had turned into. Hiccup however, quickly recovered from his start and hesitantly reached his fingers out to scratch the now satisfied dragon's jaw again. Gaining confidence, he slid several more raw fish through the gate, all of which the dragon snatched up quickly.

When she believed that the Nadder had had enough, Astrid leaned against the cell and eyed Hiccup knowingly. "So, are you ready for the next one?"

A single eyebrow rose in question. "Next one?"

"What? You did not think we were just going to feed one dragon, did you?"

Hiccup shrugged, not looking entirely pleased to have to repeat the prior process again with five more dragons. "I figured they were fed earlier and you were just giving this one a snack." He gestured to the Nadder in the cell.

"No, they were not fed today, or yesterday, or the day before that." She hissed, shaking her head and sounding far angrier than she really meant to. "Believe me, I have watched closely. The guards feed them once every two or three days and only enough to keep them alive, nothing more. If it were not for me sneaking in here every night, these dragons would all be starving." Her companion frowned slightly at her words but said nothing further. If Hiccup was bothered by the villager's negligence, he did not show it. He kept his facial expression blank as he slunk away from the Nadder's cage and moved on to the next one, which just so happened to house the Monstrous Nightmare.

"So, are we going to do this or what?" he asked impatiently.

His tone irritated her. "If this is such an inconvenience then you can just leave. Do not stay on my account, I can feed the dragons on my own." She spat.

" _You_ were the one that asked me to come. You said that I _owed_ you." He reminded her sharply but before she could retort, he sighed heavily. The exasperation quickly drained from his face and for the first time that night, Astrid finally noticed how tired he looked. "I-I'm sorry, Astrid. It has just been a long day and—and you cannot deny that you have dropped a lot on me in a short amount of time. I am trying to be open to this, but it is a lot to process."

"Please Hiccup, would you just try? For me?"

He remained silent, refusing to answer her.

His point was valid, that much she knew. Part of her felt guilty for asking so much from him. Hiccup looked as though he had not gotten a descent night's sleep in weeks, likely since his father left on the raid. He had dragon training, apparently worked double shifts in the forge to help replenish their armory, and was acting chief while his father was away. Now, to add to all that, in the course of a single day Astrid had unknowingly turned his life upside down. What she had shown him, what she was continuing to show him, it went against every logical thing that had been drilled into his head for the past nineteen years. He had every right to hate dragons—one had carried off his mother after all—but then again, Astrid also had suffered the loss of a parent to a dragon and still was able to see past that. _Patience_. She had to remind herself to be patient. He would come around eventually. He had to, the Night Fury's life depended on it. Not that Hiccup knew that exactly…

A loud snort from the Nightmare's cage brought her out of her thoughts.

To her surprise, Hiccup had gone ahead without her, opening the temperamental reptile's cage and was already starting the trust exercise with it. The Nightmare was stubborn, obviously not happy to see Hiccup in front of its cage. It shot several warning fireballs at the young heir, all of which Hiccup evaded with practiced ease. When the Nightmare's shot limit was exceeded, Hiccup carefully approached the dragon and stopped just outside of its reach as he did with the green Nadder. Then he did something he had never done before. As he turned his face and reached out his hand, he simultaneously twisted his torso slightly. The action left his torso exposed, something Astrid was sure was meant to show the larger creature his vulnerability. The Nightmare's head lowered and soon, its snout was pressed against Hiccup's palm.

 _Incredible_.

Somehow, within mere minutes, the Pride of Berk had the enormous dragon purring like an overgrown cat and snatching fish right out of his hand. Astrid found herself incapable of proper speech. It had taken her _days_ to accomplish what took Hiccup _minutes_. She wanted to ask how he had done it, how he knew that the action would appease the dragon and make it trust him, but she could not find the words. The only thing she was capable of doing was smiling as the Nightmare began to hum contentedly as Hiccup scratched at its crimson scales. Perhaps Hiccup could be more acceptable to change than he believed himself to be.

From there, things progressed rather quickly. Astrid stepped back and allowed Hiccup to work on his own and only interfered if he asked her to. His uncertain behavior gradually faded away, leaving behind the unwavering vigilant composure he had perfected over the past few years. She was amazed at how effortlessly Hiccup was able to interact with the monstrous beasts. He had a way with them, a way that even she did not even comprehend and she had been interacting with these dragons for _weeks_.

Soon, all the dragons in the Kill Ring but the Night Fury were fed. Despite his success in winning over the other dragons, when Hiccup moved to open the Night Fury's cell, Astrid felt the need to warn him about the dragon's attitude.

"I am sure that I can handle it." Hiccup quipped with his signature half-smirk.

Astrid crossed her arms and took a step back, deciding to allow him to find out for himself just how tenacious the Night Fury could be. If Hiccup could get the Night Fury to come to the bars without the use of fire, she would eat her own axe.

The solid outer gate rose, revealing a cell cloaked with blackness, the perfect environment for the obsidian scaled dragon to hide. Hiccup froze, regarding the cage with a dumbfounded look. He then took several steps back and turned his head slightly to make eye contact with Astrid yet not turn his back to the cage. She could tell right away that his confident composure was cracking, seemingly wary about not being able to see the beast within the cage.

"Did it escape?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

Astrid rolled her eyes, "It is not like the other dragons. You will not get it to come to the gate just by showing your vulnerability." She pulled a torch from the wall by the cell and her flint from her belt. "There is only one way to get the Night Fury to approach you."

Once the torch was lit, Astrid approached the Night Fury's cell with the same caution that she always did. However, as the torch bathed the cage with light, she was struck by an unexpected sight. The black dragon was backed into the furthest corner of the cell, teeth bared dangerously, pupils dilated into barely seen slits, back arched, and its leathery wings were spread open wide, making it appear much larger than what it actually was. She knew that the Night Fury did not trust her, it barely tolerated her, but never had it ever reacted like this.

"Hey, hey it's okay." She murmured, crouching even lower to the ground and experimentally twisting her torso in the same manner Hiccup had done with the other dragons. From there, her body remained still with the exception of her right arm which slowly waved the torch in the mesmerizing pattern that the dragon was familiar with. "No one is going to hurt you, I just came to bring you food and I brought a friend with me. He isn't going to hurt you either." The motion of the fire seemed to appease the upset dragon, or at least enough for it to feel comfortable approaching the gate with bared teeth and rigid wings. "See Hiccup? I told you that the Night Fury is temperamental. Although, I have to admit that it has never done _this_ before."

When there was not an immediate response to her jab, her gaze shifted from the black dragon to her companion. Beside her, Hiccup stood staring at Night Fury, his eyes wide and glassy, his brows furrowed. Astrid looked back at the Night Fury, noting that its own chartreuse glower was not locked on the fire as she originally thought. No, it only had eyes for Hiccup. Astrid grew concerned when Hiccup suddenly began to tremble under the weight of the Night Fury's accusing glare. He actually appeared— _scared_? But that was impossible. Nothing truly scared the chief's son, not anymore anyway. He always appeared fearless in any situation that was thrown at him. Well, there was the exception of being dropped thousands of feet from the sky by a dragon, but that would scare even the toughest of Vikings.

"Hiccup?"

Her voice brought him out of whatever daze he had fallen into and he finally spoke. "Y-you remember, don't you?" His voice came out gravely and Astrid frowned, unsure of what he was talking about. "Yes, you remember me. I was there, that night. It was m-my invention that injured you. It was _my_ bola that brought you down."

"Hiccup, what—" Her words abruptly cut off as the Night Fury bristled and swung its tail around, almost as if it _understood_ Hiccup's words.

" _Oh gods_!" He moaned when he caught sight of the destroyed tail fin. His shoulders slumped, "I did this."

The dragon snorted in reproachful agreement.

Astrid's mouth fell open in a tiny 'o' shape, finally realizing what was going on. The Night Fury was not just acting up, it was reacting to Hiccup because it _remembered_ him and it _blamed_ him. She turned to look at Hiccup, who now wore a horrified expression. He had realized the same thing she had. Maybe he was finally coming to the conclusion that the _drekar_ truly were not the mindless beasts that the Vikings believed them to be. Perhaps the Night Fury did not understand the exact Norse words that Hiccup was speaking, but it somehow still understood what Hiccup meant. Dragons were much more intelligent than the village credited them to be.

Hiccup broke out of his daze and slowly began to approach the cage, his hands out in front of him. The Night Fury's spine arched and a hiss began to form in the back of its throat but that did not seem to deter Hiccup.

"Here," Astrid began, handing him the lit torch. "Dragons like fire. It gives them something to associate themselves with."

With that, she backed away from the cage altogether and watched while Hiccup began to swing the torch in the same manner she had just a few minutes before. The black dragon's pupils widened ever so slightly at seeing the dancing flame but it did not relax its rigid stance. When Hiccup finally reached the gate, he pressed his palms flush against the cell and looked down at the Night Fury with remorseful eyes. It was strange. Hiccup held himself so similarly to his father nowadays, stoic and composed to a fault. Now however, before the Night Fury that he had captured, Astrid saw a side of him that had been hidden away for many years. He still held himself with authority but there was something that had cracked his hard exterior. His face was drawn, his guilt laid out before the injured creature in a way that spoke more volumes than a twist of his torso ever would. And upon seeing this, the Night Fury's pupils grew impossibly wide, making its eyes resemble the very Viking that stood before it.

"I am sorry for what I have done to you." Hiccup murmured, his voice shaking with emotion. "I was wrong. We were _all_ wrong. You guys aren't the monsters, we are, and it took the most unlikely Viking to finally realize that." He did not turn to look at her but Astrid's heart melted in her chest at the confession. He was finally understanding what she had tried to tell him all along and that was more than she ever could have hoped for. Hiccup however, was not finished with the Night Fury. "I am a man of _drengskapr_ and I know when a debt needs to be repaid **[2]**. Now, are you hungry?"

The dragon snorted indignantly, its ear flaps folding back towards the back of its head and made a mocking chattering sound in its throat. Hiccup merely imitated the sound right back to the cheeky dragon while reaching into the basket at his side and tossing a fish into the cage.

"Well alright then Mr. Bossy, here you go." Hiccup snickered.

The Night Fury simply grunted in response.

While the brazen dragon was busy devouring its dinner, Hiccup finally turned back to face Astrid. "I want to help the Night Fury, but I am going to need your help. Can you keep a secret?"

Astrid placed her hand on her hip and gave Hiccup a stern look. "Did you seriously just say that to me with a straight face?"

He tried to retort with something but stopped short, a single finger still raised and chuckled. "Right, right, hidden dragon in the forest! How could I have ever forgotten?" He cried dramatically.

"Your tongue is too sharp for your own good sometimes, you know that?" She closed the distance between them and jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. However, with his tight leather armor she was sure that he barely even felt it. "You are just as bad as the Night Fury. I have a feeling the two of you are going to get along just fine."

A crooked smirk spread across his lips and a mischievous twinkle appeared in his eyes. Before she could question it, his arms moved forward, quick fingers suddenly tickling her sides in retaliation to her jab. Astrid squeaked at the unexpected onslaught and tried to shove away from him, but his grip was relentless. His smile widened further at her struggle, revealing his gaped teeth. Astrid froze, struck by how truly handsome he had grown to be. In the darkness of the arena with only the moon shining down upon them, there was just enough light to make out the freckles dusting his cheeks, his toothy grin, and the jewel-like quality of his green eyes. When he realized that she had stopped struggling, Hiccup's smile slid from his face. Yet, he did not appear to be worried or upset, just focused. She had seen this look before, but only once. As his gaze searched her own, Astrid was hit with a memory of a previous conversation with Ruffnut.

" _He has never looked at me the way he looked at me then—very intense and very much focused, but not angry. I cannot even explain it."_

" _Did he kiss you?"_

" _What? No! Of course not!"_

" _It sounds to me that he was giving you the look that said_ he _wanted to kiss_ you _."_

Her heart began to pound dangerously in her chest. Was that why he was looking at her like that? Did he want to kiss her? Better yet, did she _want_ him to kiss her? Deep down, she knew that she did. Astrid could not deny that the thought was not at all unpleasant. She quickly became aware of how close they were standing to one another, how his grip was slowly tightening upon her waist. All she could focus on was his bright green eyes that seemed to growing larger by the second.

But right at that moment, the Night Fury finished the fish that Hiccup had thrown into the cage. The dragon, obviously still hungry, shrieked to garner the two distracted Vikings' attention. The sound broke whatever spell had fallen over them and they stumbled apart, bright blushes appearing on both of their faces.

"I-I'm going to go, uh, go feed the uh, the Night Fury, yeah." Hiccup sputtered.

Astrid nodded in response, unable to form the words to answer him.

While Hiccup tended to the impatient dragon, Astrid willed her heart to stop the painful thudding in her chest. There was no way that she had just _imagined_ what happened. Hiccup had tried to kiss her. If the Night Fury had not interrupted when it did—his lips might possibly be claiming her own at that very moment. A pleasant shiver ran down her spine at the thought. She knew that she wanted it. She wanted it so badly that it hurt. However, the rational side of her knew that it was for the best that the Night Fury interrupted them. They hardly knew each other anymore. She was not even sure she could say they were _friends_ again yet. Besides, surely it was better to never know what it would feel like to be with him in that way. What right did she have kissing the tribe's heir anyhow? With her lack of status, her tarnished reputation, nothing could ever come of it.

Perhaps it was better to save herself the heartache than to entertain such a hopeless dream.

The sound of stone hitting stone pulled her from her troubled thoughts. Hiccup had finished feeding the Night Fury and was packing up to go. He had even shut up all the dragons for the night while she had been preoccupied. She glanced quickly around the Ring, noting that everything was put back exactly as they found it. With luck, no one would ever know they had been there.

"Ready?" He asked when she finished her inspection.

Astrid nodded and numbly followed him out of the training arena. They paused just outside of the arena to make sure that the main gate was locked back in place but even once it was, neither Viking moved to leave. Astrid shuffled her feet awkwardly, unable to meet Hiccup's intense gaze for more than a few seconds at a time. She was relieved when he finally broke the silence between them. "I uh, you were right to bring me here tonight. I needed to see—" He abruptly cut himself off, running his hands over his exhausted face. "What I was trying to tell you earlier is that I want to help the Night Fury. I did that to him and I—it just does not seem fair to fight an injured dragon."

Her eyes narrowed at his words. "So, you are just fixing him up for slaughter?" She asked sharply, wondering if she had misinterpreted his actions. It sounded so barbaric, even by Viking standards.

"No!" Hiccup exclaimed, his hands flailing. "We both know that I will be chosen to fight that dragon and maybe if I can fix him up during the fight I can let him accidentally get away…or something…but you were right about the dragons. They aren't all bad and I-I just want to help!"

She relaxed.

"So, what is the plan?"

Hiccup's eyes widened but he quickly recovered, sprouting off words so fast that she almost could not follow him. "There is no way that he will be able to fly with that missing left tail fin, it will affect the aerodynamics of his flight. I will have to fashion some kind of replacement, like a prosthetic, to mimic the movements of the right one. It needs to be light and flexible yet strong enough to withstand heavy air currents. I need to draw up some sketches. That should not take too long, I already have a few ideas that _might_ work, but I am going to need your help."

"I don't know how much help I will be." She shook her head slightly with a frown. "I did not understand half of what you just said."

"No, no, not with the tail fin, I can handle that on my own. But once I make it, we will have to test it to make sure it works properly. Initially, we can test it on him in the arena. Eventually though, we will have to test it up in the air. I don't know how comfortable I feel releasing the Night Fury from the arena just yet so I will need you and Stormfly's help." He explained.

Astrid swallowed thickly, still unsure of where he was going with his plans. Instead of arguing, she decided to just agree to his request. She might not understand what he was talking about, but she trusted him. If anyone could solve the Night Fury's plight, it was Hiccup. He had the sharpest mind Berk had ever seen. He was amazing, too amazing. The Gods truly hated her. Why else would they put this intelligent, brave, handsome, and very much _unattainable_ man in her life if not to spite her?

"Okay, when do we start?"

"Tomorrow." He replied with a loud yawn. "Meet me in the forge after _náttmál_. I am too exhausted to do anything now."

"You are doing a really honorable thing, Hiccup."

"Yeah, well…"

Typical Hiccup. He shrugged off her praise, humble as always. Astrid reached out and slugged him on the arm as hard as she could muster for the second time that evening. Again, his mouth fell open in surprise but instead of grimacing or complaining, he began to chuckle. "What was that for?" He asked through peals of laughter.

"For not listening to me this afternoon."

Hiccup frowned.

She remembered the way that his arms felt wrapped tightly around her as they flew through the clouds. She remembered the way that his hands had tightened upon her waist as he moved to kiss her just minutes earlier. It had felt right, despite the fact that she knew it was wrong. Maybe she could not entertain the idea of kissing him on the lips, but she could not stop herself from leaning forward and pressing her lips softly against his cheek. She told herself that it did not mean anything. It was just an innocent display of platonic affection, nothing more. Yet, she allowed herself to linger a moment longer than necessary, relishing the feeling of his flushed skin against her lips. When she finally pulled away, Hiccup was staring at her with impossibly large eyes.

"And what was that for?" He asked quietly.

"That-that's for everything else." She whispered, her face burning. "Goodnight, Hiccup." He did not react. In fact, he looked as though he was barely breathing. Overcome with embarrassment, Astrid turned and fled the arena. In her haste to leave, she did not hear Hiccup's mumbled goodnight.

Nor did she see him bring his hand to his cheek, an incredulous smile slowly forming on his face.

* * *

 **[1] Deadly Nadders were formally part of the Sharp Class, but were later reclassified to Tracker Class for How to Train Your Dragon 2. As the events of HTTYD2 have not obviously not happened in this AU and the Vikings have not made their peace with the dragons to know the difference, Deadly Nadders will be classified as Sharp Class—for now.**

 **[2] I explained the meaning of** _ **drengskapr**_ **in the first chapter but it has been a while so I will give you all a refresher. On the subject, Snorri Sturluson, a twelfth-century Icelandic historian and writer wrote, "Valiant men who exert a good influence are called** _ **drengr**_ **." As he describes it, the** _ **drengr**_ **possessed "bravery, nobility, magnanimity, a sense of fair play, respect for others, the strength to do what is right, and a sense of personal honor." So when Hiccup says that he is "a man of** _ **drengskapr**_ **," he is stating that he is a man of honor and believes in the qualities found in the** _ **drengr**_ **. He feels compelled to help Toothless because of that sense of honor. In making a replacement tail fin for Toothless (who has still not been named, heh) he is repaying the debt that he owes Toothless for shooting him down.**

* * *

 **Well guys, this is a shorter chapter than the last couple but a lot happened even though it was entirely Hiccup/Astrid/training dragons centric. Hiccup and Toothless finally met—it's going to be a battle of snark and wit between these two! Hiccup also is proving to be quite the natural when interacting with the dragons. We are also moving along with the slow-burn guys! Hiccup and Astrid had a couple moments in this chapter ;) I hope you also enjoyed the small flashback scene from their childhood. I am curious to know if you would be interested in seeing more stuff like that incorporated into the story as we progress OR if anyone would be interested in reading an outtake series for this AU. It's nothing that I have started yet, but there are so many possibilities for me to write flashbacks and outtakes—especially in later chapters. I thought it could be fun!  
**

 **Thank you all for your continued support! Let me know what you think of the newest chapter :)**

 **\- Mari.**

 **01/22/2016 Addition: Thanks to a wonderful _Guest_ reviewer, I have been made aware of a very silly mistake in this chapter regarding Stoick's presence in the house when Astrid visits Hiccup. Stoick is not in the house; he is not even on the island! He is still out searching for the nest. Therefore, I have gone back in and tweaked some things. Instead of Stoick being downstairs, it's Gobber. I want to give the _Guest_ reviewer my sincerest thanks because that one completely got away from me. I had no idea until it until you mentioned it! Woops. ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** :

 _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a dragon in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

The following day felt as though it dragged on forever.

Since she was no longer allowed to participate in dragon training competition, Astrid did not have anything to do during the time that she normally spent in the Ring. But of course, she did not get the luxury of extra sleep however. She was up before first light as per usual, her mother putting her straight to work doing various chores at home. It was merely busy work and both she and her mother knew it. While Astrid was thankful for something to keep her mind off of the fact that she was once again being excluded from something that was every Viking's rite, she really hated housework. Alas, her morning was spent cleaning, making bread, mending a few torn skirts, and tending to their sad excuse of a garden behind the house, all while Herleva went around to see if there was any extra work that needed to be done around the village.

Since her father's death, it was no secret that Astrid and her mother struggled financially. Mr. Hofferson had provided their only source of income and after he was gone, they survived solely on good will and what work Herleva could find around the village. It was embarrassing to have to rely on the generosity and charity of the fellow villagers, to have to nearly lower themselves into doing _þræll_ work, but Astrid knew that she had no right to complain **[1]**. She and her mother had food on the table most days, a roof over their heads that only leaked occasionally, and clothes to keep them warm.

When her mother returned home a few hours later for _dagmál_ , mother and daughter sat at their wobbly kitchen table eating a modest meal of dried fruits, cheese, and bread **[2]**. As Astrid had finished most of her assigned chores, she was sure that her mother would ask her to come along with her on her afternoon rounds. Much to her surprise however, Herleva did no such thing.

"Ye are free to train with yer axe after yer chores are finished, daughter."

Astrid dropped the piece of bread she was about to eat on her plate in shock.

Her mother smirked, "I know how upset ye are that I pulled ye from dragon training. I do not want to take _this_ away from ye too. Just be back before dark."

Astrid jumped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around her mother in a rare show of affection. "Thank you, thank you!" She cried.

When all of her chores were completed, Astrid shouldered her axe and stuffed a few pieces of leftover dried fruit from _dagmál_ into her pouch for Stormfly. Dried fruit was not her dragon's favorite snack, but it would have to do. She did not have anything better to give to her loyal friend. Astrid and her mother had finished up the last of their supply of dried fish the night before and it would likely be a few days before her mother had enough money to trade for more.

As she was leaving her house to head for the grove, she saw the other Viking teens leaving the training arena for the day. A feeling of jealousy crept into her chest but she forced herself to push it away, focusing on something, anything else. She wondered what they thought about her absence that morning. Hiccup knew the truth, but did they others? Luckily, they were too far away to notice her watching them. She was not in the mood to answer questions if they had them. No doubt Ruffnut would have plenty for her later and that was going to be embarrassing enough.

Stormfly was happy to see her as always when she finally made it to her destination. She tossed the colorful dragon a few pieces of dried fruit upon her arrival which Stormfly accepted graciously. After a quick preen from her vain dragon, Astrid set to work practicing with her axe. Stormfly was happy to nap while Astrid practiced with an intensity that surprised even herself. All the frustration, anger, jealousy, and hurt that she felt over being pulled from dragon training, she released by throwing her axe. Her tree of choice took quite the beating that day, but she was improving greatly in her consecutive aim. She finally stopped when she accidentally tore one of her old blisters open, deciding that perhaps she had done enough for the day. The sweaty Viking collapsed down on the ground, leaning against Stormfly while she caught her breath. Stormfly meanwhile preened at Astrid's flaxen hair, attempting to order her braid back together. Astrid chuckled and freed her hair from its messy plait, re-braiding it to satisfy her dragon's compulsive grooming habit.

"Is that better?" She teased, showing Stormfly her new braid.

The Nadder bobbed her head in approval to which Astrid rolled her eyes.

"So, what now?" She meant the question to be rhetoric, but apparently Stormfly had other ideas. Astrid was startled when her backrest suddenly moved, flapping her wings excitedly. "What has gotten into you, girl?"

Stormfly squawked loudly and gestured her beak towards her back. Astrid's eyes widened, understanding immediately what the dragon wanted. She wanted to go flying, flying with Astrid. The offer was tempting. The young Viking glanced up at the sky, there were still a few hours of daylight left. There was no reason _not_ to go flying for a little while. The freedom of soaring through the clouds, being high in the sky, was a feeling that was indescribable. Noticing her human's acceptance, Stormfly lowered herself to the ground to allow Astrid better leverage to climb onto her back. Once the blonde was situated, her hands clutching tightly onto Stormfly's crown, they were off.

The rush was just as exhilarating as the day before, if not more. Dragon and Viking rose into the late afternoon sky, gliding contently above the clouds towards the far side of the island. Squeezing her thighs securely against Stormfly's torso, Astrid ran her hand through the fluffy clouds once more. The mass of condensation immediately broke against the pressure. She giggled and Stormfly trilled happily, hearing that her human friend was in high spirits. They remained in the sky for the rest of the afternoon, circling lazily around the island, weaving in and out of large sea stacks, all the while making sure to stay out of sight of the village. The last thing they needed was to be spotted.

When the sun began its daily descent from the sky, Astrid patted Stormfly's flank and told her it was time to go. They quickly landed back in the grove and the Viking found that she was not nearly as disoriented by the descent as she was the day before. Her hair was still a wild mess, but she made sure to fix herself up before leaving the grove.

"See you tomorrow, Stormfly!" She called as she headed back to the village.

Astrid sprinted all the way back to the village—she had promised her mother she would not be late after all. When she entered the Great Hall, her cheeks were flushed from both exertion and joy. However, her good mood abruptly burst when she saw that the other Viking teens were already seated at their usual table. She froze, hovering near the doors, unsure whether or not she should join them. She longed for Ruffnut's company as well at Hiccup's, but was not sure if she was welcome at the table as she was no longer a recruit. In the end, she chose not the chance it, choosing instead to sit by herself on the opposite side of the hall. Hopefully the recruits would not notice her entrance. She did not want to listen to Snotlout's mocking anyhow. Sometimes she wondered how Hiccup could stand to be so patient with him.

Thankfully, none of the teens noticed her trek across the hall but a few of the villagers did give her strange looks when they saw that she was sitting by herself. She could hear the whispers— _speculations_ —that they tried to conceal. Apparently word had not gotten out about her removal from dragon training, but it was only a matter of time before someone figured it out. Astrid sighed and kept her gaze glued to her plate and ate quickly, attempting to drown out the gossip of her fellow Vikings. Her meal was finished quickly but she remained seated at her empty table, unsure of what to do until she had to meet Hiccup in the forge later that evening.

Suddenly, a plate clattered down on the table in front of her. Astrid's head shot up in surprise, her gaze meeting the pale blue eyes of her best friend. She could not help the smile that began to form on her lips. However, she quickly noted that Ruffnut was not smiling. In fact, the female twin looked rather irritated. She was not sitting at the table, but rather leaning over it with her palms flat against the wood to support her.

"What's wrong?" Astrid asked immediately.

Ruffnut's frown deepened. "You missed training today."

"About that, I—"

"You were disqualified, I know."

"What? No! I was not disqualified!" Her brows furrowed in confusion. "My mother pulled me out of training. She was worried that people would think that I cheated because of what Hiccup said yesterday."

"And did his words have any merit?"

Astrid's mouth dropped open in shock. "Of course not! How could you think that, Ruff?"

"I didn't, not really, but I had to make sure." Ruffnut finally relaxed her tense posture and moved to sit down at the table. Astrid's lips however remained in a tight line. "Look, I'm sorry! I should have trusted you but you cannot deny that it all looked very suspicious. Hiccup had some valid points."

"And they were nothing more than jealous words." Astrid spat in return. "He told me so himself."

The young women fell silent. Astrid angrily pushed some leftover crumbs around on her plate. She thought that her friend had trusted her more than that. It hurt that Ruffnut had brought into Hiccup's empty words. _Speaking of Hiccup_ —the flaxen haired Viking chanced a glance over to the recruit table. Gobber was gone but Hiccup, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut remained behind. The four boys appeared to be engaged in some sort of discussion, but Hiccup boldly met her gaze when he noticed she was looking. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she remembered the way that the skin of his cheek had felt under her lips the night before. Upon seeing her flushed face, Hiccup smirked and nodded his head to her. Astrid dropped her gaze down to her plate again, cursing her ever reddening face. Luckily, if Ruffnut noticed her flushed cheeks, she did not comment on it. Astrid was grateful that instead of teasing her about Hiccup, the female twin launched into a story about how Tuffnut had convinced Snotlout that she would find him more irresistible if he slathered himself in fish oil.

"And the idiot actually believed him! He walks up to me this morning, smelling like a rotten cod, thinking that I was going to fall to my knees and beg him to take me!" Astrid could not stop her snort of laughter. Like that was _ever_ going to happen. Snotlout was completely blind to that fact that Ruffnut only had eyes for Fishlegs now. "What he got instead was vomit all over his boots. I thought Tuff was going to piss himself."

"You—you vomited on his b-boots?!" She cried, tears of mirth springing to her eyes.

Ruffnut nodded, unable to speak as her own body shook with laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Both females were fully caught up in fits of laughter when Hiccup and Fishlegs approached the table. Hiccup raised an eyebrow but sat down calmly next to Astrid, waiting for the giggles to pass. Fishlegs shyly took a seat across from Hiccup, which was conveniently next to Ruffnut. His eyes widened when the she grinned impishly at him. Astrid ignored their exchange and wiped the tears from her eyes, collecting herself just enough to explain what they were laughing about. When she got the story out, Fishlegs began to snigger as well. "Oh! She did not even tell you the best part!" He exclaimed.

"Snot was so nauseated that he turned around and vomited all over himself too." Hiccup explained, his mouth twisting into a smirk.

Astrid began to paw desperately at the table, "Stop! _Oh gods_! I cannot breathe!" She wailed.

The group of four cackling young adults garnered the attention of most of the Great Hall. Several older villagers shot them dirty looks, clearly not impressed with their rowdy behavior. Astrid simply rolled her eyes at their disapproval. They were Vikings, for Odin's sake! Being obnoxious was part of their very essence of being, especially when mead was involved.

"So what are you two doing over here anyways? I thought you were looking over the dragon manual." Ruffnut questioned once they finally all calmed down.

In answer to her question, Fishlegs sighed and glanced pointedly over to their now abandoned table. Only Snotlout and Tuffnut remained and the two took up nearly the entire table while engaging in some sort of fight. Their fists were locked in the middle of the table and both boys were standing, their faces red from exertion. They appeared to be yelling at each other and Snotlout had one foot propped up on the bench for leverage. It was a rather odd scene.

"What exactly are they doing?" Astrid asked dubiously.

"Attempting a double arm wrestling match, I believe." Hiccup answered, rolling his eyes.

Ruffnut rubbed a hand to her forehead, "Ugh, I'm related to one of those idiots."

Hiccup nodded, sympathizing with her. "Yeah, and I am related to the other one. Can you imagine if _he_ was heir?" The four more civilized teens shuddered at the thought of Snotlout Jorgenson as Chief of the Hairy Hooligans.

After a while, they abandoned their table and moved closer to the warmth of enormous hearth at the end of Great Hall. Day by day the village could feel _vintr's_ icy clutches creeping up on them. It was only _Haustmánuður_ and although they were still in the _sumar_ months, it did not feel like it anymore **[3]**. The afternoons were still quite pleasant but in the early morning and evening, the air turned sharp, forcing them to layer up or stay indoors to evade the chill. Typically the space closest to the hearth in the Great Hall was reserved for the Chief's family and his advisors, but with Stoick and his most trusted advisors on the hunt for the dragons nest, the space was vacant. Thus, the group of four settled down to keep warm. The girls sat with their backs to the fire while the boys sat across from them nursing mugs of ale. For a while they spoke in hushed tones about the village's preparations for _vintr_.

Things were more dire than the remaining elders let on. As Hiccup spoke, Astrid began to understand the reason for the dark shadows underneath his green eyes. Apparently, the dragon raids were causing much more harm than any of the other teens had realized. The village was beginning to run very low on food and it was quite possible that they would have to begin rationing before too long. Guilt crept into her chest as Astrid thought about how much of the village's supply of food she was giving away to the dragons. As if he sensed her inner turmoil, Hiccup met her gaze and smiled gently. Yet, despite his reassurance, the guilt remained. While it was true that the dragons could not feed themselves, the needs of the village _should_ come first. She would have to be careful how much food she smuggled from the storage houses from now on.

When the blazing fire finally reduced to burning embers in the hearth, the group of four finally called it a night. They said their goodbyes at the bottom of the steps outside the Great Hall and then went their separate ways to turn in for the evening. Or at least, that is what Ruffnut and Fishlegs believed. Hiccup and Astrid however, rendezvoused at the forge as they had planned the previous night. The two young Vikings shuffled into the dark smithy, cheeks red and shivering slightly from the night air. Once Hiccup shut the door behind them, they were plunged into darkness until he lit the hearth. However, as he was not going to be using it right away, he was forced to keep the fire low.

"Come on," Hiccup said, motioning back towards his small workroom. "I have something I want to show you."

Astrid followed him back into the cramped space and while Hiccup shuffled through some papers on his desk, she took the chance to look around and observe. She had been in the forge many times before, often to have her mother's axe or her own seax sharpened, but never had she been back into Hiccup's personal room. It was very confined, with only enough room for a table, bench, and a bookcase. The ceiling was also quite low, Hiccup actually was forced to duck slightly when he was standing. Yet, Astrid could sense right away that he spent a lot of time in his room. His desk was a mess of papers, tools, bolts, gears, and scraps of leather. Pinned all over the walls were sketches upon sketches—projects, weapons, buildings, and surprisingly, people. As her blue eyes scanned the drawings in the light of the dim space, one particular diagram caught her attention. It looked strikingly familiar. On the page were a series patterned knots, runes, the sharp curve of a double axe head—

"This is my axe!" She gasped in pleasant surprise.

Hiccup looked up from what he was doing, his face flushing just ever so slightly. "Uh yeah, I—well, even though I made it years ago, I consider your axe to be some of my best work. So, I—uh, left the original design up on the wall."

"Thank you." She whispered. "I know I told you before, but thank you."

He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "Ah, yeah, well, a Valkyrie has to have a fine weapon after all." As soon as the words left his mouth, Hiccup abruptly turned back to his desk, refusing to meet her incredulous stare.

Astrid felt her heart swell with both appreciation and affection for the lithe young man before her. _He cannot just say something like that and pretend that it means nothing!_ What was she supposed to say in reply? What was anyone supposed to say to a compliment of that regard? Before she could muster a response however, Hiccup mumbled something under his breath and motioned for her to come closer. When she looked over his shoulder, she saw that in his hands he held a rough sketch that looked like a retractable tail fin for the Night Fury.

"Is that the prosthetic?"

"Yup." He popped the 'p' loudly, the sound echoing through the tiny space. "I was able to sketch out a few ideas this afternoon. What do you think?"

Her eyes traced over the designs. They were highly complex, straps around the base—no doubt to attach it to the Night Fury's tail—a series of gears that would make the prosthetic maneuverable, iron rods for support, and leather fabric to mimic the leather-like quality of the remaining tail fin. The mechanics of the soon-to-be forged tail fin went straight over her head but she knew it would work. It would. Hiccup's designs were genius.

"Hiccup, this is incredible!" She exclaimed.

The redheaded Viking flushed on cue at her exuberant praise and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Aww, Astrid, thank you." **[4]**

"This really could work. When will you start?"

Hiccup wandered past her, out of the cramped space and into the dimly lit forge, grabbing his dirty apron from its hook along the way. That was enough of an answer to her. He immediately got down to business, firing up the forge to full strength and gathering various tools and materials. For several moments, Astrid lingered uncertainly near the door to his workroom. Hiccup did not ask her to stay, but he also did not ask her to leave either, he simply began to work in silence as if she was not even there. As the smithy filled with heat from the intense flames of the forge, Astrid found that she did not want to leave. The warmth was soothing, such a stark contrast from the harsh night air and the chill that often filled her home at night. _Perhaps she could stay a while, he never told her to go after all…_ Astrid took his silence as an open invitation, opting to take a seat on a wooden stool at one of the worktables. She situated herself into a comfortable position, folding one leg up on the stool and resting her cheek against an open palm.

"Decided to stay?"

She jumped at the sudden sound of his voice.

Hiccup smiled, finally looking up from the piece of leather he was fiddling with. "I'm glad, sometimes it is nice to have company besides Gobber. Besides, you used to like visiting me in the forge." He added wistfully.

Astrid's jaw dropped. Her cheeks colored, but not because she was embarrassed. She was angry, or frustrated really. It was true. From the time that Hiccup began his smithing apprenticeship at the age of ten and up until they began to grow apart years later, Astrid had visited Hiccup in the forge nearly every day and they would just _talk_ while Hiccup worked for Odin knows how long. Besides, with his busy schedule, at times going to the forge was the only chance she had to see her best friend. She had not minded, at least not until—

"Yeah, well, I only stopped coming when I did not feel welcome anymore."

Something distinctly metal clamored to the floor.

" _What_ _are you talking about_?" He barked incredulously.

She met his gaze stonily. "Hiccup, by the time that I stopped visiting you, you could barely form a _sentence_ around me. All I would get were shifty glances and an ushering out of the forge if I stayed for more than five minutes. You would get so irritated that your face would turn as red as—"

"Gods, Astrid!" The sharp tone of his voice as he interrupted her made her freeze. "I was trying to forge your weapons as a _surprise_ , but you had this _very uncanny ability_ to show up _exactly_ when I was trying to work on them!"

She stared at his blazing emerald eyes, gaping like a fish before whispering a disbelieving, "What?"

Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose. "You were fourteen when you stopped visiting me in the forge, yes?" She nodded and he began to pace back and forth in front of her, his hands characteristically flailing. "It was the wrong thing to do I know because it was the only time we really were able to see each other since I was so busy, but I also couldn't let you spoil the surprise. If you would have seen them and asked about them, I—you know how terrible of a liar I am! I never could have kept something like that from you! Then you just stopped talking to me altogether and—"

She mentally blocked out the rest of Hiccup's rant as guilt pooled into her stomach. All this time she had thought that Hiccup had been the one who initially withdrew from their friendship. How horrifying to find out that _she_ was the one who walked away and over such a silly misunderstanding! She reasoned his strange behavior to simply not wanting her around. What else was she supposed to think when he suddenly sprouted every excuse in the book to get away from her? Thus she stopped her visits to the forge.

 _Clearly he had not wanted her there so_ …

Shortly after that was when Astrid noticed Hiccup began regarding her more and more with barely concealed frustration. However, thanks to his seemingly endless list of responsibilities, they could go days, sometimes even weeks, without seeing or speaking to one another. At first he was pleasant when they did happen to bump into one another, but his body language told another story. As time went on, their meetings grew more and more awkward until eventually, Hiccup simply took to ignoring her altogether. His disregard for her presence had stung, but how was she to know that he was likely only reacting to her sudden extraction from his life? Their friendship had unraveled over a silly misunderstanding, all over her cherished weapons that Hiccup had so painstakingly crafted and so desperately wanted to keep a surprise.

The irony of the situation was not lost on her. Dark laughter began to bubble in her throat, spilling forth from her lips without her consent. Hiccup bristled at the sound, storming over to the forge and angrily shoving a long circular rod into the hot coals. She waited until he removed it from the heat and had lowered the rod into a bucket of cold water before she explained the reason for her laughter. "How ridiculous to think that the things that have brought me so much joy, are also the source of so much heartache." She began somberly. "I really have no excuse for you Hiccup, other than I thought that I was doing both of us a favor by distancing myself. I thought that was what you were attempting to do yourself. I had no idea, not even an inkling that you were just trying to keep a surprise. _I am so sorry_."

The fierce tension in Hiccup's stance dissolved abruptly, leaving his shoulders in an awkward slump.

He avoided her regretful gaze as he spoke, "I suppose I am equally to blame for what happened. I let my insecurities get the better of me. I was so _afraid_ that you did not want to—" He cut off abruptly when Astrid suddenly rose from the stool and crossed the room to envelope him in a tight hug. For a moment, he remained rigid in her embrace, too stunned by the sudden affection to do much else. However, when his arms finally latched around her waist and his face buried into her thick braid, Astrid breathed a deep sigh of relief, letting his scent wash over her.

"Can we try again?" Hiccup asked softly, his breath tickling her neck. "Finally put all of the hurt, anger, and confusion behind us?"

Unable to form an intelligent verbal response, what with the object of her affection pressed so tightly against her, she nodded furiously against his chest. Hiccup pulled out of the embrace first, grinning that goofy gaped-tooth grin of his. As he went back to work on the Night Fury's prosthetic, there was a new bounce to his step that Astrid had not seen thus far. As she reacquainted herself with the wooden stool, she too felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her chest.

They were finally friends again.

A comfortable silence fell over them. Hiccup began pumping the bellows, increasing the temperature of the forge to the point that he could melt down old weapons that were too far gone to repair to reuse in the Night Fury's artificial tail fin. The warmth of the bright forge, the giddiness she felt over their renewed friendship, and predominantly, the events of the day, took their toll on Astrid. Her eyelids began to droop. Her cheek began to lean more and more against her open palm. Her head suddenly felt quite heavy. She finally laid her head down against the surface of the worktable, intending to only rest her eyes for a moment.

It must have been hours later that a warm hand against her back roused her from her inadvertent slumber. The forge had died down, bathing the room in dim light. She blearily rubbed the sleep from her eyes before focusing on Hiccup's form as he stood before her, excitedly telling her that he had completed the first prototype of the Night Fury's prosthetic.

"Show me!" She said eagerly, tiredness abruptly forgotten.

"Now, this is a rough prototype. I'm sure I will have to do a bunch of tweaks." Hiccup babbled, holding up a leather and iron contraption that looked nearly identical to the sketches that he showed her earlier. He quickly demonstrated how the leather material could fold in and out, sort of like a fan, helping it to mimic the dragon's remaining fin in flight. "I doubt that it would stand up to any kind of real air resistance but once we get it on the Night Fury, I can at least get a feel for whether or not it will work."

Right. She had nearly forgotten they would need to test it first. The trial and error of the tests were going to be very hard, second only to figuring out how to attach it in the first place. There was no doubt the Night Fury would not be happy with Hiccup being so close. It still clearly recognized him as being the source of its capture and imprisonment. Even if they did placate the moody dragon enough for Hiccup to attach the contraption, there was still a chance that it would not work period. If that were the case, they would have to go back to the drawing board which would inevitably be disastrous, considering the championship fight was only a few short weeks away.

"So, how are you going to get it on the dragon?" Astrid asked, bringing her concerns to light. It was not going to be an easy task by a long shot. She could only hope Hiccup had a plan.

Luckily, he did.

"The Night Fury obviously is not going to let me close enough to attach and test the prosthetic until it trusts me." He noted, running his hands over his face. "How did you earn the other dragons' trust?"

"I came to the arena every night with food without fail and I would—" She cut off quickly, flushing. Hiccup motioned for her to continue. "Sometimes I would just sit there and talk quietly to them when they were agitated or seemed frightened. I think they liked the rhythmic sound."

Hiccup scratched at the light stubble lining his jaw, "Did it work with the Night Fury?"

"No." She wanted to give him a positive answer, something that he could garner some hope from, but that would not be the truth. "Not really. My voice occasionally seems to placate him, but I still do not think that dragon trusts me, much less likes me."

The answer was not what he wanted to hear. He slumped against the worktable with a frown.

"Hey," She began softly, "If anyone can get through to that stubborn beast, it will be you. You take that dragon's lip and give it right back."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and went about tidying up his mess. When she asked if he needed any help, he shrugged her off, telling her that it was really late and that she needed to be getting home. It did not take much convincing before she agreed, she could feel the exhaustion from dozing on the worktable in her bones. As a yawn escaped her, Astrid peered behind her to the split door of the forge. With a jolt, she realized that the sun was just beginning to appear on the horizon. They were going to be in so much trouble, or at least she was.

She had never gone home.

She and Hiccup had been in the forge all night. _Alone_.

As if coming to the same conclusion she had, her companion began ushering her towards the door. But just as she was about to leave, she turned and lightly touched Hiccup's stubbly cheek. He looked tired, far too tired. "Try and get some rest. The shadows under your eyes and getting their own shadows." She joked grimly.

He chuckled and after a moment of hesitation, leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly to her forehead. "I can always count on you to look after me, even when you do not need to."

Astrid nodded dumbly before turning away and walking away out of the forge as quickly as possible, her heart sputtering madly in her chest. She cursed the fact that he had that kind of effect on her. She had only just come to terms with what she felt for him, but how _he_ could make _her_ _feel_ was another story entirely. It was unnatural. She was a _Viking._ Vikings were not supposed to melt into a pile of mush over something as trivial and platonic as a kiss to the forehead. She needed to put as much physical space between herself and Hiccup as she could for the moment.

With practiced and quiet movements, Astrid crossed the village and was standing outside of her bedroom in a few short minutes. She swung open the shutters to her room and scurried in the window. Closing the window behind her, she shed her clothes until she only remained in her smock. After freeing her hair from its plait, she crawled into her bed of furs with a yawn. She would cherish the few moments of rest she would get before another long day began. Hopefully a certain redhead was doing just the same.

—

The following week passed with much monotony.

Astrid's mornings began before dawn with tedious housework that made her want to scratch her eyes out. The blonde often found herself gazing longingly towards the training arena when she was out working in the garden or staring out the window while scrubbing the dishes. Although she was glad that she no longer had to pretend that she _enjoyed_ fighting dragons, she did miss the excitement of discreetly pacifying the large beasts. She missed Gobber's reckless training exercises and saucy jabs. She missed the near constant companionship of the other teens. Well, with the exception of Snotlout, she did not mind seeing less of him. She missed it all but instead, she was up to her eyeballs in of dirt, dust, and dishes.

Her one solace were her exploratory afternoons spent with Stormfly. Gradually, Astrid had spent less time axe throwing and more time up in the clouds. It had taken a few more flights but now the ascent and descent did not bother her stomach. She no longer winced or gasped when the Nadder lurched because of an unexpected gust of wind, it was just part of the experience. Twirls, twists, and loops were no problem now. The Nadder and Viking pair were becoming more and more daring each day. They had taken to flying further and further away from the village, sometimes even away from the island entirely and flying over the open sea. It was no secret now that she had truly come to enjoy riding a dragon but she had no one to share her tales with, except Hiccup. They spoke of it in hushed whispers as they spent their evenings in the arena feeding the dragons. He could only smile and express his jealousy as she told him of a new trick or described the way that something appeared from so high up above. Astrid did not miss the way that gears were beginning the turn in his mind and the looks he shot at the tenacious Night Fury. He wanted to experience the thrill of flying again but this time, with his _own_ dragon.

The making of the prosthetic was going relatively smoothly. Hiccup revised his original design after spending more time observing the black dragon, such as increasing the retractable fan's size to closer match its scaled counterpart and adding on a few more gears. Although they had expected it, there was only one problem. The Night Fury was characteristically proving to be stubborn about the whole 'trusting Vikings' part of their plan. Hiccup had made little progress and it was starting to worry them both. It was not for lack trying on Hiccup's part, the Night Fury was simply unmovable. Hiccup had tried everything—sensible things such as fire, submitting himself, and making himself appear vulnerable, to more outlandish tactics such as singing, dancing, begging, and even trying to reason with the creature. Nothing worked. It tolerated Hiccup enough to be fed and that was that. Everything else was observed with a pair of unimpressed citrine orbs.

"Nothing is working!"

Astrid looked up from where she was rubbing on the Monstrous Nightmare's snout through the bars of its cell to see Hiccup storming away from the Night Fury's cage. His cheeks were flushed in frustration and his shoulders were beginning to sag. She hated seeing this side of him. Hiccup typically was so calm and collected, it took a lot to rattle him and somehow, the Night Fury had firmly wedged itself under Hiccup's skin. It was a puzzle, a problem that he just could not crack. Her gaze darted over to the darkened cage, but all she could make out were iridescent green globes and bright white teeth.

"It will happen, you just have to be patient. It takes time to gain a dragon's trust."

Hiccup huffed and began pacing in front of her. "Time that we do not have!"

The Nightmare warbled softly, sensing the young Viking's agitation.

"He's okay, he is just worried for the Night Fury. If we cannot get him to trust us, we might not be able to save him." Astrid murmured to the stoker-class dragon as she resumed scratching its scales. She thought for a moment, searching her brain for something that might be able to help them. "Maybe we need to try something different."

"Like what?"

"Maybe you should come alone tomorrow night, keep the other cages closed, and deal with the _unholy offspring of lightning and death_ one on one. Just you and him." She suggested. It was a long shot, but perhaps it would work. "Just sit down and talk with him."

Hiccup groaned, "I have been."

She shook her head. Hiccup had done a lot of talking to the Night Fury, resulting in numerous exasperated eye rolls and snorts from said dragon, but Hiccup never truly put himself out there, exposed himself fully to the dragon. He was still reserved and she was not sure if maybe it was her presence that hindered that. Thus she proposed that she remove herself from the equation. Astrid felt as though baring her soul to Stormfly had been what truly formed their bond. The Nadder was able to trust her because she sensed that _Astrid_ trusted _her_.

"A dragon's trust is not easily won because it needs to be both earned _and_ returned. I am not so sure that you trust that Night Fury just yet." Hiccup stopped his pacing and was quiet for several moments as he considered her words. "I have no secrets from Stormfly. I have bared my very soul to her and I believe that she can sense that. The Night Fury knows that you do not trust him, Hiccup. That is why he does not cooperate." She added sagely.

He did not appear to find comfort in her words. Although Hiccup had made great progress in the past week when interacting with the caged dragons, Astrid knew that there was still a small part of him that had a hard time going against what they had been taught all of their lives. She breathed a sigh of relief when Hiccup took a deep breath, straightening his shoulders as he did so.

"Okay, all I can do is try."

* * *

 **[1]** _ **Þræll**_ **is the Old Norse word for slave, the Latinized version being** _ **thrall**_ **. I want to stress that although Astrid makes the comment that they have to lower themselves nearly to** _ **thrall**_ **status, Astrid and her mother are NOT slaves. Although I think that is obvious, I just want to reiterate so that there is no confusion. Astrid is simply making the comment that because of their financial situation, sometimes they are forced to do the work that would typically be reserved for those who** _ **are**_ **enslaved. They may not have Berk's respect but they are nowhere near being considered** _ **thralls**_ **by the village.**

 **[2] As I have mentioned before, the Norsemen typically ate two meals a day.** _ **Dagmál**_ **typically was eaten a few hours after the day began and** _ **náttmál**_ **was eaten later in the evening. There really was no concept of lunch in Viking culture.**

 **[3]** _ **Haustmánuður**_ **is the final month of** _ **sumar**_ **on the Icelandic calendar. When compared to modern calendars, this falls approximately during September 15th to October 13th. This is the harvest month so as you can see, Hiccup has quite a lot on his plate while his father is away. Not only is he competing in dragon training, but he also has to deal with acting chief duties, the harvest, the preparation of** _ **vintr**_ **, and now he helping a certain Night Fury regain his flight. Busy, busy, busy.**

 **[4] Totally stole inspiration for that line from** _ **Dawn of the Dragon Racers**_ **. If you got the reference, kudos to you! In case you have not noticed, I** _ **love**_ **hiding little lines, gestures, or scenes from canon into this story. :D**

* * *

 **Well, there you have it folks, chapter nine! I honestly do not have time to write out a well thought out author's note because I'm rushing to post this between finishing up some last minute homework (ugh, procrastination) and heading to my three hour long night class in about an hour (more sighs of exasperation). Just a heads up, I will be out of town this weekend so I probably will not be responding to any reviews until Monday but please, still leave them! Really quickly, I do want to say that the response after posting last week's chapter was MINDBLOWING. I think I received a total of** **FORTY** **reviews and I did my very best to respond to each and every single one of them! You guys are incredible. Thank you! :)**

 **Anyhow, I hope you all are satisfied now to know at least some of the reason behind Hiccup's attitude towards Astrid. How many of you were expecting some kind of misunderstanding involved? I won't lie—there is a bit more to the story than what Hiccup is saying now and** _ **that**_ **will be explained in the following chapter. The surprises just keep on coming! I like to keep you all on your toes.**

 **But seriously…Be prepared guys. I am giving you a fair warning that the next chapter** **extremely** **long and a doozy of feels. :D**

 **Have a great week everyone! Hopefully I'll be talking with some of you after the weekend!**

 **— Mari.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** :

 _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Warning** : _There is some adult language at the beginning of this chapter. Blame Ruffnut. She has a mind of her own._

—

 **Chapter Ten**

"How long did you think you could hide it from me?"

In her shock at the sudden voice, Astrid dropped the small bar of soap she was using into the spring below her. She inwardly groaned, knowing there was no way she would ever find it again beneath the water's bubbly surface. She ran her pruned hands over her face in frustration. Her mother was going to skin her alive. Soap was not exactly rare commodity among Vikings, but it was made through a laborious process and Astrid knew just _who_ exactly would be replacing their supply.

So far, _Laugardagr_ had not been too bad. The day was proving to be quite overcast and the air had a certain chill to it but the springs were as warm as ever. After Astrid and her mother had washed their clothes and linens together, the younger Viking had found a secluded portion of water, tucked back behind a few large boulders, and was relishing some time to herself. There was so much on her mind. Hiccup had gone to the arena alone for the first time the previous night and she had not heard from him yet about how it had gone. She was anxious. Luckily, the heated water helped to wash not only the grime from her body but ease the worry from her heart as well.

A splash of water to her person brought her from her reverie. So lost in her thoughts she was that she had almost forgotten that she was not alone anymore. Bringing her hands away from her face, Astrid saw her taller blonde friend regarding her with a stern pair of cobalt eyes. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "How can someone so smart be so dense sometimes? You have been spending an awful lot of time with the Pride of Berk lately! I thought you said that nothing was going on." She snapped.

A breath of relief rushed from Astrid's lungs. For a moment, she had been afraid that Ruffnut would say that she knew about the dragons. That would have been disastrous. It was not that she did not consider Ruffnut trustworthy enough to let her in on her secret, she just was not so sure that the female twin would understand. She was not as broadminded as Hiccup. Although he was handy with a sword, Hiccup had always been sort of an unconventional Viking, one who marched to the beat of his own drum and was open to new ideas. Ruffnut on the other hand was a Viking through and through—crude, stubborn, at times a bit insane, but completely loyal to the tribe. Astrid was not sure that reason and their friendship alone was enough to overcome the ideals of her stubborn Viking nature.

But this kind of accusation, although irritating, she could handle. Ruffnut's suspicions about her and Hiccup's relationship were the least of her worries. There was so much else at stake that she truthfully did not care what her friend or anyone else thought was happening between herself and Berk's heir. Still, it would not do good to have rumors spreading.

"It's not what you think." Astrid insisted, feeling frustrated that they were having this conversation, again. How many times had they been over this now? "Hiccup and I are friends again. Friends spend time together."

"You and I are friends too but lately, you have been spending more time with him than me."

"You jealous?" The smaller blonde shot back.

"A week and a half ago you wanted to pummel his face into the ground and now you two are all over each other. It's just weird." Ruffnut made a sickening face while squeezing excess water from her hair. "If I didn't know better, I would think the two of you were fucking in the forge late at night."

Astrid's eyes nearly bulged from her head.

"How did you know about that?!" She shrieked, not realizing how her words sounded.

"I-I didn't! I was joking!" Ruffnut sputtered, seemingly caught off guard. They were the only two in that particular portion off the spring but there were several matrons, including their mothers, and a few younger girls just downstream. When she continued, she made sure to keep her voice low. "Wait, so you and Hiccup have been having sex in the forge?"

"Of course not!"

"But you just—"

"I didn't mean it like that. Yes, Hiccup and I meet in the forge at night but we haven't been having—doing— _that_." She mumbled halfheartedly, unable to force the word scandalous word from her lips.

Sex was a topic that Vikings typically avoided, unless there were multiple tankards of mead involved. Yet almost all young adults knew plenty about it, whether it be from hearing stories from their older siblings or gossip in the springs during _Laugardagr_. The boundaries when it came to sex were broad and not without double standards. Boys were considered men when they made their first big kill or lost their virginity. Young women, on the other hand, were expected to remain pure until their wedding night. **[1]** But that was not to say that all followed that expectation. Berk had its fair share of unwed women with quite a few notches on their bedpost.

Not that it mattered, but Astrid herself was a virgin and planned to remain that way for some time. She could not afford to bring more shame to her family by becoming pregnant with a bastard child. Besides, the only man on Berk that she would remotely even consider giving herself to in that way was off limits. True, she had feelings for the chief's son but she would never allow herself to dream of doing something so promiscuous with him. They were just friends. Hiccup would never—

"If you're not fucking, then what are you doing?" Ruffnut demanded, completely missing the way that her friend's cheeks were steadily turning a brighter shade of red.

"Would you stop saying that word?!" Astrid hissed.

"What, fuck?"

"Stop that!"

Astrid was completely over their conversation. She swam to the edge of the spring and stepped onto the bank to grab her clothes that had been laid out to dry. After dressing, she rubbed at her arms, willing away the goose pimples that had erupted all over her skin at the sudden temperature change. Much to her chagrin, Ruffnut drug herself from the warm springs as well, all the while bemoaning how Astrid never had any fun.

Ruffnut sniggered naughtily, "You need to loosen up—"

"Gods, you are so irritating sometimes."

"—and I'm sure our little Hiccup could find a way to fix that. Or is he not so little? You tell me, Astrid."

Oh, how she wished she had brought her axe.

"I. Will. Murder. You."

The only response Astrid received to her threat of death was laughter.

Ruffnut continued her snide teasing all the way back to the village. It was not until they were passing through the main square, surrounded by their fellow townsfolk, that Ruffnut finally gave it a rest. For that, Astrid was beyond thankful. That last thing she needed was for an eavesdropping villager to overhear the Thorsten daughter's crude, scandalous, and most importantly, untrue words. After a short debate that was finally non-sexual in context to Astrid's relief, they decided to head to the Great Hall to eat. Two steaming bowls of hot stew later, the two friends sat across from each other at a long empty table. Astrid listened patiently as Ruffnut recalled what she had been missing in dragon training, not knowing that Hiccup had already told her much of the same thing.

"So," The blonde twin paused to take a large, obnoxious slurp of stew. "How has your axe throwing been going?"

"Well enough."

Truthfully, axe throwing had been the last thing on her mind over the past week. Flying with Stormfly was turning out to be so much more exciting. However, Ruffnut's inquisition was a swift reminder that she would need to get back to practicing. That was what her mother believed she was off doing in the afternoons after all.

"Is your aim improving?"

"Yes. I'm throwing at trees though. I have no one to spar with, so I doubt it would hold up in a real fight."

"I can fix that." At seeing Astrid's quizzical look, a mischievous smile curled onto her thin lips. "You and me, we should spar."

Astrid's mouth tightened into a firm line. Years and years of practice and experience had left Ruffnut exceptionally skilled with a spear, able to use it both as an offensive and defensive weapon in either hand. Put that in combination with her bow and you had one very lethal combination. Astrid had had the pleasure of watching the twins spar once. They had held nothing back, fighting one another as if their very lives were at stake. It had ended in a stalemate with multiple bruises, a concussion, and a deep laceration on Tuffnut's bicep that had required Gothi's expertise to sew up. The memory of Tuffnut's gruesome injury was enough to make Astrid hesitate. There was no way that the Ruffnut would go easy on her just because they were friends. Then again, perhaps that was just what she needed. She would never truly learn to fight if her opponent just let her win.

Ruffnut's expression was pleading. "Come on, Astrid! Let me teach you how to fight!"

Finally, Astrid stiffly nodded her consent.

"This is going to be awesome!" Ruffnut cheered, pumping a fist of victory in the air.

"What's awesome?"

Both maiden's heads shot up as multiple plates slammed down on the table and the benches wobbled to adjust to new added weight. The quiet atmosphere that had surrounded them was gone in an instant, stolen by a group of rowdy young Viking men. It appeared as though the entire group of teens would be eating together again for the first time in a week. Astrid had taken to eating by herself, unable to bring herself to sit through Gobber's nightly meetings now that she was not included. This night, however, they had given her no choice. The others did not seem to notice her discomfort. Tuffnut was once again attempting to balance his hunting knife on his nose, Fishlegs was quietly asking Ruffnut how her day had gone, Snotlout was inhaling his dinner, and Hiccup was staring at him with disgust. All in all, it was a normal _náttmál_.

Surprisingly, Snotlout was the one who had inquired as to what the two women of the group were talking about before the boy's arrival. Astrid felt reluctant to explain as she watched the broad shouldered boy vilely bite into a chicken leg. Not only was it really none of his business, but she could not stand to look at him while he chewed with loud, smacking jaws and let fatty juices run down his chin. Ruffnut, who sat to his left, and Hiccup, who had the pleasure of sitting directly across from him, appeared equally unimpressed with his eating habits.

"Think you can chew any louder, Snot?" The auburn haired Viking drawled.

Snotlout shrugged, "I'm hungry."

Both Hiccup and Astrid shuddered as spit flew across the table.

"You are disgusting." The blonde spat.

His mouth hung open, revealing bits of un-swallowed food. "That was uncalled for!" Snotlout whined. But moments later, he resumed eating, seemingly unaffected. "Where have you been anyway? Finally realize that you aren't cut out to fight with the big boys?"

Astrid dug her nails into the wooden bench to keep herself from leaping across the table at him. Luckily, someone else beat her to it. Ruffnut, who sat on his left, turned and shoved him off the bench. The female twin smirked as Snotlout flailed around on the ground. "And you just got beat up by a girl, so I don't think you're cut out to fight with the big boys either." She snapped viciously.

Tuffnut guffawed rowdily as Snotlout tried to untangle his legs from the bench.

"Aye! Listen up!" Gobber called them to attention as he hobbled over to their table. When he saw Snotlout fighting to regain his sense of balance, the blacksmith rolled his eyes. "Stop fooling around, yeh ninny. Sit on the bench like a civilized lad!"

Snotlout pouted, "Ruff shoved me off the bench!"

"Yeh probably deserved it." Gobber countered, completely unsympathetic. He mumbled something under his breath about the future of the Jorgenson clan being doomed while Snotlout scrambled back into his seat. "Now listen up, we are nearing the end of yer training. This week yeh will be competing in the final rounds to— _Astrid_? What are yeh doing here?" He exclaimed, finally realizing there was an extra person sitting at the table.

"My table was invaded." She grumbled.

Ruffnut sniggered behind her hand.

"Right, well, none of this pertains to yeh." She rolled her eyes. That was Gobber, blunt as always. "As I was saying, this will be yer final week of training before the championship. Yeh must implement all that yeh have learned. The recruit who shows the most talent will have the honor of facing the nasty black beastie in front of the entire village!"

"It's going to be me!" Tuffnut cried, banging his fork against his plate.

"Not you, me." Snotlout boasted, "That dragon is as good as dead. The pelt is mine! I can't wait to have some new dragon hide boots, maybe some new armor…" He trailed off muttering to himself.

Astrid visibly cringed at the gruesome description of what Snotlout planned to do with the Night Fury. A frantic hand squeezed on her knee. Even without looking beside her, she knew that Hiccup's face had gone devoid of color. They both were wise enough to know that it was not going to be Snotlout, or Tuffnut, or Fishlegs, or even Ruffnut. No, it was going to be him. It had to be him. Hiccup was the Night Fury's only chance of survival. With the final fight a week away, there was little time to prepare and several tests still needed to be done with the prosthetic. If only they could get the Night Fury to cooperate! Astrid was so caught up in her worries that she failed to notice the suspicious stare that the female Thorsten was giving her from across the table.

When Gobber gave his dismissal not ten minutes later, Astrid stood and left the table without a word. As the large double doors slammed shut ominously behind her, she took in large gulps air. The chill of the air quickly drove away the anxiety that fogged her mind. Once she collected herself, Astrid made for the forge, hoping that Hiccup would be wise enough to follow her there.

Thankfully, Hiccup knew exactly what she was thinking.

"We're in such deep dragon shit." He moaned when he entered the forge not fifteen minutes later and saw Astrid waiting patiently for him.

"I take it last night did not go well?"

"It went okay—I guess, but I'm still no closer to getting the prosthetic on that useless reptile than I was last week."

"We don't have much time. One week. We have one week to figure out how to get the Night Fury to trust you, not to mention we have to see if your prosthetic design will even work." Astrid pressed her palm to her forehead, feeling the weight of the responsibility they faced weighing down on her chest. "This is hopeless…maybe we need a new plan."

"No," He began grimly, his mouth contorting into a grimace. "Even if we set the Night Fury free tonight, it won't survive without the other half of its tailfin. I hate to admit it, but it is probably safer here among Vikings for the time being than out in the open. A wounded dragon could easily be a target for other, larger dragons." He took a deep breath. "I'll just have to try harder." Astrid forced a small nod. He continued, "We can do this. I will do this. I owe it to this creature to at least…try."

Despite her worries, it was hard for her not to believe him.

—

Hours later, Astrid remained awake in her bed.

Despite her exhaustion, she simply could not relax her brain enough to get any kind of decent rest. Every time she closed her eyes, she was met with horrifying images of what could happen if Hiccup's plan for the championship failed. The scenes started out innocent enough. It always was loud. Every villager crowded around the edge of the arena, all cheering and waving to a lone figure who stood stiffly below. Astrid herself was positioned near the gate, wanting to be as close to the action as possible. Just before Gobber opened the Night Fury's cage, Hiccup would turn and shoot her this look, a look that she could not quite decipher. The gate would raise and then everything would happen so quickly. Blood—dark, sticky and crimson—bathed the arena.

Her eyes sprung open and her stomach lurched painfully.

The scenarios in her brain always ended in death.

Needing air, Astrid drug herself over to her window and threw open the shutters. She breathed in deeply, allowing the crisp air to seep into her lungs. She remained there, drawing in those deep breaths for several moments. Eventually, her stomach ceased twisting but she did not move to go back to bed. Instead, Astrid looked out into the darkened village before her. Berk was sleeping. It was silent, save for a few insects that still resisted the cold nights. Every house was dark. Not even a single candle was lit in any window. Nothing was out of place. Even so, she could not erase the worry churning in her gut. Her sharp stare turned from the village to the mountains just beyond. Off in the distance, she could make out the Kill Ring nestled into the high cliffs. The sight of it gnawed further at her stomach. She knew she had told him to go alone again but after the dreams she had, she had the sudden urge to go and make sure that Hiccup was okay. Once the thought crossed her mind, there was no stopping it. She quickly threw on some proper clothes and re-braided her hair out of necessity but did not give any thought to putting on her boots.

The trek to the arena was quick and silent. The Kill Ring appeared just as still as the village. None of the torches had been lit and from what she could see during her approach, the cells' outer gates were closed. If she did not know any better, she would have thought no one was there. It was not until she got to the main gate that a soft, nasally voice reached her ears. She froze, afraid to go in any closer. Across the arena, Hiccup sat completely armor-less in front of the Night Fury's cell. It was a strange sight as Astrid had not seen him without his leather armor on since he had first made it three and a half years ago. He seemed much smaller, almost weaker without it. None of the torches were lit. Only the stars and the moon kept the arena from falling completely into shadow. Deep within its cage, the Night Fury was completely invisible but Hiccup still spoke as if the beast were right in front of him. Truthfully, there was no telling if the elusive dragon was even listening.

But Astrid was.

"I was very young when it happened. Dad does not talk about it, but everyone remembers that night. There were a few times when I was younger that the adults would get drunk and not realize I was around. I was small and easily overlooked. Sometimes they would talk, tell stories…" Hiccup paused and sighed heavily. "Berk has always been plagued by raids, but this was one of the worst. Many people died that night. Dad was off protecting the village so my mother had to defend our home alone. Everyone has always said that my mother was small and a little unorthodox for a Viking—kind of like myself—but she was also a proficient warrior. They don't understand exactly how it happened or why it happened, but a dragon broke into our house that night. It didn't set the structure aflame, it did something far worse. That dragon spared me, spared our home, but it carried my mother away that night while she fought to protect me. She was never found. There is no grave, no memory. Nothing." **[2]**

"I don't remember the style of her hair, the color of her eyes, the shape of her face, or how tall she was compared to my Dad. She is nothing but a blur in my mind. I don't remember the sound of her voice or any of the songs she apparently used to sing to me before I would go to sleep at night. I don't remember her burning all of our food or the fact that she loved to sew. Those are someone else's memories. They are not mine. I have no memories. I have forgotten her. I have forgotten my own mother."

It was the most tragic statement that Astrid had ever heard.

How heartbreaking to have no memory of one's own mother? Unfortunately, Hiccup had indeed been very young when his mother was taken by the Stormcutter. It had been a few years before her uncle Finn had died. Hiccup could not have been more than…three? Therefore, what few memories he did have were likely buried deep within the very depths of his subconscious. Astrid herself could remember very, very little about the chief's late wife. Valka Haddock had worn her hair in three long braids, but Astrid only knew that because Ruffnut styled her hair in the same fashion and her mother had commented on it once.

Meanwhile, Hiccup continued his monologue.

"I've held a lot of resentment towards dragons for what they did to my mother, to my family. I can't help but think how different my life would be if she was still here. But I'm not like the other Vikings. Every dragon I have ever killed or harmed has been to protect someone else **[3]**. I don't actually enjoy killing, contrary to everyone's belief. Killing dragons will not bring my mother back, so hurting them makes me no better. It was hard growing up without her. My life was so much different than the other teens'. They had someone to pick them up when they fell, to explain things softly to them instead of yelling, and to give them hugs when they felt sad and alone. None of them understood what it was like to grow up without any of that. Dad…tried, still tries actually, but he isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. Vikings are known for their hardiness, but my father is on a whole other level. Some of the villagers say that he wasn't always like that. Apparently I just remind him so much of Mom that he—anyway, he's always expected the impossible from me. He wanted me to be a great warrior, the strongest of them all. Instead he got a _hiccup,_ a pathetic excuse for a Viking. I'd rather read the village records or tinker with something to figure out how it works than swing a sword or an axe. I always have my head in the clouds. I don't think like everyone else. My way of thinking makes grown men feel uncomfortable!" Hiccup's voice grew deeper and deeper until Astrid realized that he was actually impersonating his father.

Had the Chief actually said those things to his own son?

Before she could dwell on that thought, Hiccup switched back to his normal voice. "I have no doubt that my father loves me, but I also know that I will never measure up to his impossible expectations. I will never be like him. After all, how do you measure up to someone who is that great, that brave, and that selfless? I'll always be a hiccup in his eyes."

At some point during his confession, Astrid had had to bite down on her fist to keep from crying out to him. She had no idea that Hiccup felt any of those things. Sure, they had not spoken much over the past four years but she had always been able to read him so well. Hiccup had never been able to hide his emotions from her. Despite the anger that she had felt towards him after their falling out, she had still watched him, even if it was from afar. He had appeared so confident after he began weapons training and taking upon chiefly duties that she had honestly believed that he had grown out of his childhood insecurities. Apparently, he had just grown very good at pretending. He was just as unsure of himself now as he had been at fifteen. She wanted to run to him. She wanted to tell him that he was none of those horrible, horrible things. She wanted to tell him that he had the greatest, strongest heart of all the Vikings on Berk and that there was no one else she would rather have fighting by her side, but her feet defied her. They were rooted to the spot.

Hiccup continued speaking to the Night Fury, unaware of Astrid's presence or her internal turmoil.

"I know that you will never forgive me for what I did to you. I don't expect you to. It was wrong, but I'm trying to make it right. Astrid and I, we want to help you. You don't deserve to be put up for slaughter in front of a cheering crowd. I can help you escape. I can help you regain your flight. You just need to trust me first."

His heartfelt plea was met with silence but he tried again regardless.

"You're scared, bud, aren't you? You want to know a secret?"

Remarkably, a snort came from the cage.

Hiccup laughed, but the sound was forced.

"I'm scared too."

Silence.

When Hiccup dropped his head into his hands in defeat, all thoughts of staying in the archway left her brain. He had rehashed many awful, suppressed memories and feelings. He had gone so much of his life without physical or emotional comfort. He was expected to remain strong, to not show any kind of weakness. Tonight though, he needed someone. He needed comfort. She was half way across the arena before she even realized what she was doing, her bare feet making little sound as she ran. He did not startle when he approached him. It was as if he had known she was there all along. Her hands fisted into the front of his signature green tunic as she dropped to her knees on the ground behind him and held him close. When his entire body began to shake at the unaccustomed contact, she pressed her face tightly against his shoulder blade.

She could not stand the fact that he thought so lowly of himself.

He was wrong.

"All those awful things that you said about yourself, not one of them are true. You, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, are one of the strongest Vikings that I know. You think that you will never measure up to your father because he is great, brave, and selfless? You need to take a long, hard look at yourself. You are all of those things and more! Not just anyone would be strong enough to go against tradition, to listen to reason over vengeance, to turn around and help the very creatures that have been destroying our home for over three hundred years. Most Vikings are too proud to admit when they are wrong. But not you. You have a kind, beautiful heart and I—" Astrid cut herself off before she admitted something much too personal. "And you never need to feel afraid, Hiccup. You are not alone."

The arena was suddenly much too silent. The rhythmic sound of the insects died away. The only sounds were their breathing and the occasional muffled sound of a dragon moving in its cell. He did not acknowledge that he heard her speech, but she knew that he did. She remained knelt down behind him with her arms wrapped securely around his frame and her hands resting just above his pounding heart, until his shaking finally ceased. Her arms fell from him limply as he suddenly twisted around on his knees to face her. Much too close, green eyes and sharp cheekbones flooded her vision.

He was right there and he was not backing away.

Her breath hitched painfully. Not for the first time, she wondered why the Gods hated her so much. There he was, so close, and yet still completely unattainable. She could not have him in the way that she so desperately wanted. Never in her life had she wished for something to happen that really, really should not happen as she did in this moment. The sound of her thundering heart echoed in her ears like a drum. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that when she reopened them she would find that it was all just a figment of her imagination. She prayed she was dreaming again. But when her sapphire eyes fluttered back open, he was still there. His expression was puzzling, his eyes holding a flurry of emotions that she could not quite understand. Yet, the manner in which he looked at her spoke volumes. The air around her grew very warm. His hooded gaze told her that he wanted her just as badly as she wanted him.

The only question was, would he act upon it?

This time, there was no question as to if he was drawing in closer. His hot breath fanned across her cheeks, swirling like a delicious haze. As badly as she wanted to close her eyes and relish the feeling, she could not bear to look away him. It was not until his lips finally brushed against hers—a tentative, feather light touch lasting a fraction of a second—that her lashes finally fluttered closed. A whimper escaped her lips when he pulled away just moments later, breaking the intoxicating contact. She wanted more. No, she needed more. Her hands slid up his chest, tracing momentarily at his collarbone, before slipping into his thick auburn locks and blindly pulling his face back down to hers.

Their lips met for a second time and this time she responded to his touch, tilting her head and taking his bottom lip between her own. When he sighed into her mouth, it was as if someone lit a fire within her. Never had she experienced anything so electrifying. The feeling of his lips melding into hers, caressing her, exploring her, was better than flying. It felt as though she was hundreds of feet in the air even with her knees planted firmly on the ground. She tightened her hands in his hair, forcing his lips harder against her. He responded eagerly with a curious nip of his teeth and a teasing hand along her spine. His touch made her shudder, her back arching, and forced her chest against his.

" _Astrid_. _"_

The sound of her own name, spoken so wontedly against her lips, both aroused her and terrified her. What was happening was real. It was not just a pleasurable dream. She finally knew what it felt like to kiss Hiccup Haddock, but it was wrong, so very wrong. The rational side of her won over. She tore her lips from his and searched his face. His green eyes were half lidded and impossibly dark. His lips, red and swollen, were curving into a tiny, disbelieving smile. It was clear that he was just as affected, just as enraptured, as she.

At first, it sounded like hogwash. How could Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III even remotely feel anything other than friendship for her? She was the village embarrassment, the last of a clan with a tarnished name. He was the chief's son, the Pride of Berk. That kind of love story only happened in the fables that mothers recited to their children before they went to sleep at night. Even if he was capable of feeling such things for her, nothing could ever come of their attraction to one another. It was pointless to hope for such a thing. The likelihood of her marrying anyone—let alone the chief's son—was slim.

There was no _fastnandi_ to negotiate a marriage contract for her now. She did not have any siblings or cousins. Her birth had been a difficult one and her parents had been unable to have any more children after her. Her father's only sibling, her Uncle Finn, was unmarried at the time of his death. Her mother's family had all passed in dragon raids long before Astrid was even born. She and her mother were all that was left of the once mighty Hofferson clan. Not to mention she had no dowry. Her father's savings were long gone and now they barely had enough money to put food on the table. She was not an eligible bride. She had nothing to offer a husband but her virginity. And thus, Astrid had long ago resigned herself to being alone, living her life as a shield maiden. It was all she could do. **[4]**

Hiccup however, was blissfully ignorant to the dismal thoughts swirling in her brain. When he moved in to steal another kiss from her equally swollen lips, she pressed her hand against his chest to stay him.

"What is it?" He breathed out, his nose nudging hers.

She sighed and pushed on his chest harder to put some more space between them. It was impossible to think rationally with him so close. He frowned but complied, sitting back on his heels and waiting patiently for her to speak what was on her mind.

"We-we can't do this, Hiccup." She hated the fact that her voice shook as she spoke. "You shouldn't be kissing me like that. It's wrong. I'm not just some plaything that you can—"

"What?!" He exclaimed, his brows furrowing. "No, no, no! Astrid, you have no idea how long I have been waiting for this! It's not just a game to me."

Although she still found that notion impossible to believe, it made the situation even that much worse. "If you truly feel the way that you say you do, then you should know that this is not fair to either of us." She whispered, her head down-turned. "Nothing can come of this. You are the chief's son! I do not want to entertain a false hope between us. You should be married off to the daughter of some other chief to strengthen tribe alliances."

He suddenly snorted, "I won't be forced into a marriage with another chief's daughter, let me assure you."

Was he even listening to her?

"I-I don't think you will have much of a choice in the matter."

"Then it's a good thing that I already approve of my betrothed."

He was smiling and she felt as though he stole her breath, kicked her, and stabbed her all at once.

 _Betrothed_.

Angry tears sprung to her eyes. He was promised. Even worse, he approved of this woman. Yet, he had kissed her as though he wanted her. How dare he?! She was not some concubine nor would she ever be **[5]**. She wanted to smack the stupid, tiny smile off of his stupid, little face. And so she did just that. He deserved it. Her hand shot out, striking him across the cheek and leaving an angry, red welt that she felt strangely proud of. She wanted to get up and run from him—she would have rather thrown herself inside the Night Fury's cage than remain with him—but her knees were locked to the ground. At least she had the satisfaction of watching the smile slip from his face, replaced by shock and hurt.

He brought his hand up to his bruising cheek. "I-I don't understand."

"Yeah? Well neither do I!" She spat savagely. "How could you kiss me when you are promised?!"

"But I thought—I-I didn't realize you were such a stickler for tradition." He replied with a frown. Astrid clenched her teeth. _Oh, he has a lot of nerve!_ Her hand rose as if to strike him again for his audacity but paused when he flinched. Hiccup quickly began to amend his statement upon seeing her fury. "I'm sorry, don't hit me again! If you don't want me to kiss you until after the ceremony, I promise I will keep both my hands and lips to myself!"

His words only confused her further.

"What on Odin's green Midgard are you talking about, Haddock?! You shouldn't be kissing anyone but your future bride—especially after you wed!"

"But I'm not!" He cried, finally losing his patience. "I am kissing you! You are my promised!" His hands gestured wildly at her as if to reiterate his point. At loss of what to do, Astrid abruptly rose to her feet and stared down blankly at the very angry and very confused man below her.

 _Impossible!_

"We're not—we can't be—" She sputtered as she found herself at a complete loss of words.

Hiccup's eyes lit with realization, as if it finally dawned on him why she was so upset.

"You didn't know we are b-betrothed?" He stumbled over the word as he scrambled to his feet as well.

" _No_!"

He looked horrified. "You never knew? My gods…they never told you?!"

She shook her head, unable to muster her voice this time around. Hiccup was quiet for a moment as he collected his thoughts. Astrid found herself in much the same position. She felt strangely off kilter, off center, by the news. If what he said was true, her entire outlook of the future was about to change. But it was impossible. There had to be some kind of mistake!

She looked to Hiccup for an explanation.

"I'm so sorry—I thought, I honestly thought you knew." He finally muttered. "I don't understand why your mother kept it a secret from you." The look on his face was confusing to her, he looked almost…tortured.

"Neither do I," She bristled. How could her mother have kept something this monumental from her? And why did Hiccup never say anything? It would have changed everything. "So you should start explaining what you know—right now."

"Our parents, particularly our mothers, were very close as you know before…well, everything happened. They wanted to build an alliance between our clans. They drew up a contract for us just days after you were born, when they realized that an alliance through marriage was possible. That's why after your uncle's death, our two clans still stood together so solidly, even with all the flack the village gave my father. My Dad wrote off what happened to Finn as an unfortunate mistake, a fluke." He paused to take a deep breath, he seemed very nervous.

Astrid motioned for him to continue.

"Anyway, Dad told me about our contract just after my fifteenth birthday. I was shocked, of course, but obviously thrilled. Until then I had believed that I would one day be forced into an arranged marriage with a woman from another tribe. Had it not been for our mothers, I'm sure that would have happened. I was _—am_ betrothed my best friend." He grinned sheepishly, a blush forming on his freckled cheeks. "My father made it clear when he first told me of the contract's existence that even though our betrothal was not officially announced and that your parents had not told you yet, it was still not appropriate for me to be alone with you. I had no choice but to respect his wishes, when we were in public anyways. With my busy schedule, that wasn't a problem. We rarely bumped into each other alone and Gobber was usually around whenever you came by the forge. So for a while, everything was fine."

He was quiet after that, giving her time to take everything in. Astrid thought back to their conversation just a few days before about how their friendship had unraveled and suddenly, everything clicked into place. She had understood Hiccup's reasoning for not wanting her in the forge while he was making her gifts. She even understood why he had not actively sought her out outside of the forge—he was usually busy. It would have been nice for him to at least try to find time for them to spend together, but she was still able to look past that. What she had not understood however, was why he began to avoid her in public places—such as the market. Why had he brushed her off when they were lucky enough to randomly bump into one another? If he had missed her as much as he claimed to, why not take advantage of an opportunity when it presented itself? The other night, she had not called him out on it. She had not questioned it. She had been content to leave sleeping dragons lie for the time being.

But now she had her answer.

Although it was a common practice in other lands, Berk was a tribe that mostly stuck to old traditions and that meant no recognition of courtship. After reaching a certain age, it was no longer appropriate for the respective future husband and wife in a betrothal to be around each other without a chaperone. When they were children, no one would have thought anything of it. But at the ages of fourteen and fifteen, it was no longer considered appropriate to be alone together—even if they were in a public place. It could be too much of a temptation. A more conservative Viking would argue that it could lead to other things. It was a stupid rule, something Astrid had never agreed with. Her mother on the other hand…

Herleva knew of her daughter's feelings for the chief's scrawny son.

She knew that Astrid would never act upon those feelings without reason.

She also knew that Astrid had a tendency to defy tradition and get into trouble.

Astrid was now not the least bit surprised that her mother had kept her in the dark for so long. Her mother would have likely been content to keep the contract a secret all the way up until the day before the ceremony if she had it her way, all so that Astrid would not have the chance to spoil it. In a twisted sort of way, Herleva was only doing what she thought was best for their broken family. She was trying to preserve what little was left of their honor. One of the main reasons Astrid never acted on her feelings for Hiccup when they were younger—other than fear and nerves—was because she had honestly believed that nothing could ever come of it. He was the son of the Chief and even before her father's death and the shame that was brought to her family along with it, her position was still far beneath his own. _What right did a craftsmen's daughter have to be with the son of the Chief?_ After her father's death, a chance of ever ending up with Hiccup became that much more improbable. But, that outlook would have changed drastically if she had known of the betrothal.

However, the no courtship rule did not explain everything. It explained why her mother kept the contract a secret. It explained Hiccup's initial awkward avoidance of her in public. But there was something else at work as well. Something that Astrid could not put her finger on. Avoiding her was one thing, she could understand and even forgive him for that, but his poor attitude and frustration towards her could not be explained away so easily. Could it? What could have possibly triggered such a response if he did indeed approve of the betrothal?

She could not keep silent on the subject any longer.

"So why have you treated me so poorly over the past few years?" The question came out so sharp and so fast that it caused Hiccup to blanch, but she pushed on. He clearly wanted to be with her. She obviously wanted to be with him. They had their chance now. But, if they were going to make it work, she had to know what had really happened. "You can't deny it, Hiccup. I understand that you had to avoid being seen alone with me, but it doesn't explain everything. You have treated me with nothing but cold disdain since I stopped visiting you in the forge. Why?"

Hiccup sighed and ran his hands over his face once before speaking. "I'm afraid that I was not completely honest with you the other night. You deserve to know the truth and I can only hope that after you know everything, you will still give me a chance. Just please know, that now I know I was wrong—about everything." He pleaded. Despite the solemnity of his words, his eyes still shone with barely concealed hope.

Astrid frowned, unsure of just where he was going with this. "Please just tell me, Hiccup."

"Not long after I was told of the contract, your father came to me about forging you a set of weapons. The shield and seax were his idea for a Snoggletog present, but your axe was my own idea. It was going to be far more special. Our parents meant for us to be married after you turned sixteen and the axe was supposed to be part of your _morgen-gifu._ **[6]** I started working on the whole set right away because I knew they would take many months to design and forge properly. That was when things got complicated I suppose. As I said before, you had an uncanny ability to show up at the forge when I was working on your weapons and so I had to shoo you out before you saw them. But Astrid, I did not always shoo you off. It happened more frequently that I care admit, but it was not every time. That is why I was so shocked when you stopped coming by all together. I did not understand why you would suddenly put so much distance between us when it was the only time that we had to see each other. At first I thought you were just busy, but then—well, then it was not hard to convince myself that it was because of other things." He admitted quietly.

His last statement caught her off guard. "Like what other things exactly?"

"When you suddenly stopped speaking to me, I thought t-that your parents had finally told you about the contract. There was nothing wrong with you being in the forge with me, Gobber was there after all, so it had to be something else. That was when I let my insecurities get the better of me. I—I thought that maybe it was because you did not want to be married to me, the worst Viking that Berk has ever seen. I was stupid. I was foolish. I was devastated. And I was angry—very angry; at myself for being a hiccup but also at you because I thought we were better friends than that. I had the respect of the village, but it did not seem to be good enough to gain your affection. I took a lot of that anger out on you because of that stupid, stupid fear and I can't tell you how sorry I am for it.

"But, I was also afraid. I had no idea what to do at that point. I didn't want to force you into a marriage that you seemed to not approve of! Then, after your father—" Hiccup cut himself off, unable to finish the statement. "Well, even my father could not say that what happened with the Flightmare was a fluke anymore. The Hofferson clan was an embarrassment to Berk. Given what had happened, I had an out. I had the power to break the contract and I considered it. Not because of the shame and dishonor that was brought upon your family, but for your sake because I believed you to be unhappy. But I was selfish. I told Dad I wanted to go through with it anyway, regardless of your reputation."

Astrid gasped, "Hiccup—!"

He shook his head. "Please let me finish, Astrid. I saw how your father's death affected you and since our friendship was not in a good place at that point, I asked to simply postpone the wedding to give you time to grieve and for everything to blow over. Miraculously, Dad listened to me for once and according to him, your mother also agreed. I think she was just thankful that you were not going to lose everything from the Flightmare episode. The village was in an uproar over what happened, so they thought it was best to wait until everything died down. The marriage could wait until both you and I were ready. Dad's only condition was that we had to marry before I took up the chiefdom. I agreed to that condition because I knew it would be years before I would become chief. I…I sincerely hoped that eventually you would change your mind, but I wouldn't push you or force you. I watched you, you know, all those years. I hoped that you would eventually come around, but you always seemed indifferent to me.

"Anyway, as for my cold treatment towards you during dragon training, you know most of it. It's so hard to impress my father and winning the championship would have done that. So I was jealous of how good you were, but that was not all. I had given your axe to your mother after your father's death. I told her that I had originally made it as part of your _morgen-gifu_ , but that your father would have wanted you to have it. I told her it was up to her whether she give it to you or not. I did not see that axe again for nearly three years. Then one day, you showed up to dragon training with it out of the blue! Seeing it again after so many years was like a slap in the face. Again, I let me anger get the best of me and I treated you like dirt and—"

It was so much worse than she originally thought. She had believed that she had been the only one struggling during their time apart. She had thought that she had been doing the right thing by distancing herself from him, but she had not had all the pieces of the puzzle. Not even close. She had not understood why Hiccup had gone from being nervous and stuttering to frustrated, bitter, and at times, downright callous, after she cut their ties. She had believed that he would not, should not, care because she was the only one plagued with unrequited feelings. How wrong she had been! They had wasted so much time being angry with one another, both foolishly thinking that the other did not want them when really, that was the furthest thing from the truth.

"—so now you know everything, the whole truth. You know how selfish I've been in regards to your future. I have nothing else to lose. I'm bearing my heart to you, Astrid. I want to make you happy, I want nothing more. I think that if you accept me, we could have a beautiful life together. But, if you can't forgive me for what I have done then tell me now. As soon as my father returns, I will release you from the contract and hold no ill will against you."

The words seem to cause him pain to say, but she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

He wanted her to be happy, no matter the cost to him.

That was the opposite of selfish.

"I wish you would have confronted me the first moment you suspected something was wrong. You should've fought for us Hiccup, instead of giving up at the first sign of trouble. That's not like you. It's not the Hiccup I know anyway." She murmured once she found her voice. "We could have saved so much time if you would have just been open and honest with me."

The tortured look returned to his face at the reminder of his mistake. "I know, I know. I messed up, Astrid. But honestly, I thought that you knew! I thought that bringing it up would only make things worse. I was also afraid. I was afraid that you would confirm my fears if I confronted you about it and somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to face that possibility." His voice was broken, utterly defeated by the end of his speech. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"I do not forgive you." She answered. When his shoulders slumped at her response, Astrid reached for his face and forced him look her in the eye instead of his boots. He needed to hear this. "Hiccup, what I mean to say is that I do not forgive you because there is nothing to forgive. I understand. We both made mistakes but it is all in the past now. We need to look to the future. We—" Her breath caught in her throat. She dared to hope, dared to dream. "We truly are promised?"

He nodded and reached out hesitantly to touch her face. "Thanks to my selfishness, the contract between our families is still valid. I have waited for this for so long. I am yours milady, if you will have me."

Despite everything that happened, she could look past it. She did not want to dwell on the past any longer. She could sense his regret and that was enough. The look he gave her now was so incredibly hopeful. She could only pray that her own expression mirrored it. She knew her answer. For once, she would allow herself to be selfish and not think about what anyone else would think of their union. This was about her and Hiccup's happiness; not the village.

"I will." A dazzling gap-toothed smile formed upon his lips but she was not yet finished. "But, you must promise to always fight for me. Promise that you will never give up on us again."

His reply was followed by an all-encompassing kiss that left both breathless and grinning wildly. She had scarcely regained her breath when Hiccup swooped in and captured her lips a second time, his hands trailing down to her hips and pulling her flush against him. She could feel the heat of those strong hands even through multiple layers of fur and cloth. The heat pooling just below the pit of her stomach was torturous yet so satisfying. She drew her arms tightly around him, struggling to get impossibly closer as weeks—no, years—of pent up tension and desire threatened to overwhelm her.

"You know, we are completely breaking the rules right now." Hiccup murmured against her lips. "We are alone and without a chaperone. If my father knew what I was doing right now…"

"I think you've been breaking the rules for a couple weeks now. I was blissfully ignorant until tonight." Astrid pointed out, thinking back to all the times in the past few weeks that they had been alone when technically, they really should not have. But even now that she knew the truth, the rule breaking was sure to continue. "I suppose it is a good thing he isn't here. You're the chief now." She teased.

Due to her close proximity, she literally felt his chest puff out at the compliment. "Yes, I suppose I am."

They broke apart minutes later with a smacking wet pop when there was a sudden sound of movement in the cage behind them. They exchanged a quick glance before looking over their shoulders and were completely unprepared to the sight that awaited them. The Night Fury stood at the very edge of its cage. Gone were the narrow black slits that they had grown familiar with. Its pupils were now wide and circular, as if it were curious as to why the two tiny humans were squashing their faces together in such a bizarre manner. The beast even appeared to be giving them something that resembled a gummy smile. There were no teeth to be seen! Astrid's jaw dropped, completely baffled by the Night Fury's sudden change in both appearance and behavior. All thoughts of the monumental affair that had just occurred between herself and Hiccup were momentarily forgotten, pushed aside by the shock of what she was seeing.

Hiccup scratched at stubble on his chin, " _Toothless_? I could've sworn he had teeth."

"He does." Astrid replied uneasily. "Or at least, he did the last time I checked."

The Night Fury snorted and opened its mouth further, revealing nothing but bright pink gums. Its teeth were just…gone! Hiccup immediately left Astrid's side to investigate. She really could not blame him for his excitement. This was the first time that the Night Fury had approached them on its own. Despite the black dragon's docile appearance, Hiccup still approached the cage with caution. The Night Fury barely reacted, simply staring unblinkingly at Hiccup as he drew near. It remained calm, the only movement being the twitching of its ear nubs. It was not until Hiccup wrapped his hands around the cell bars that the dragon's eyes suddenly narrowed and razor sharp fangs sprang out of its gums.

Instead of fearing for his life like a normal, sane person, Hiccup merely chuckled.

"Retractable teeth?!" He grinned back at Astrid, "Did you see that? How cool is that?!"

But before she could respond, Hiccup did something completely idiotic and impulsively opened the second barred gate. Now, nothing stood between him and the Night Fury. Both were completely exposed. Astrid was horrified. That was not part of the plan. What was he thinking?! She prepared herself for the Night Fury to make a run for it but strangely, it stayed within its cage. Even with a clear path escape, the only obstacle being two unarmed Vikings, the dragon did not move. Its eyes were trained solely on Hiccup. The air around them grew thick with tension. Neither dragon nor Viking moved. Then, Hiccup daringly lifted his hand and reached out towards the dragon's snout. When a low growl began to start up at the back of the Night Fury's throat, Hiccup crouched and held up both hands for the apprehensive dragon to clearly see. Once the dragon calmed after several tense moments, Hiccup reached out for a second time. The Night Fury reacted the same way, its eyes narrowed and a warning growl rumbled in its chest.

Meanwhile, Astrid stood approximately twenty feet behind Hiccup, her body coiled with tension and her eyes locked on the scene unfolding before her. A spark of jealousy coursed through her. It was hard to relinquish control and let Hiccup call the shots. It was hard for her to willingly step aside. Up until this point, she had always been the one who approached a dragon first. She was the expert. However, as she watched Hiccup reach out to the Night Fury a third time, she realized that she was not going to be the only dragon trainer for long. Hiccup's resolve and quick brain allowed him to assess the situation and react accordingly, just as she would.

Hiccup's shoulders squared as he submissively averted his eyes and dropped his head. The Night Fury instantly perked. Its eyes grew impossibly large and its nostrils twitched as if it was sniffing Hiccup's palm. But for several heart-pounding moments, nothing happened. Then, the dragon wrinkled its nose and made a low warbling sound, as if it made a decision. Its citrine eyes slide closed and it leaned forward, pressing its snout into Hiccup's waiting palm.

Astrid was forced to bite down on her lip to keep from cheering aloud.

They had done it!

Upon feeling the warm scales against his hand, Hiccup looked up and grinned wildly. The Night Fury snorted and sat back onto its hindquarters, staring down at Hiccup with an expectant expression. When Hiccup did not respond accordingly, its ear flaps lowered and its eyes narrowed but it did not appear angry, just irritated. _Sassy dragon_.

"What does it want?" Hiccup murmured back to Astrid.

She could not give him as answer because she was just as lost as he was. With a roll of its eyes, the dragon lowered itself back down to the ground and began to cautiously slink towards Hiccup. Its nostrils twitching and its eyes darting about as if it was searching for something. It finally dawned upon Astrid as to what the dragon wanted. The beast was hungry. With a quiet laugh, she rushed towards the small fishing basket Hiccup had completely forgotten about. It was almost empty, meaning that he had already fed the other dragons. She pulled out two medium sized cod and whistled lowly to get the dragon's attention. Its flat head twisted towards her with slight whine, yet not quite begging. The Night Fury was too proud to beg. Taking pity on the creature, she tossed one fish and then the other, which it promptly devoured.

Hiccup silently raised a single eyebrow.

"He was hungry." She explained shortly while wiping excess fish slime off on her mother's hand-me-down studded skirt.

The Night Fury licked its jaw in appreciation and rewarded them both with another gummy smile. It truly was strange to see the Night Fury looking so…happy after being on the opposite side of so many exasperated snorts and rolling green eyes for so many weeks. Not that she was complaining. Astrid much preferred a content Night Fury to an angry one. She leaned back against the edge of the cage with her arms crossed over her chest and watched as Hiccup practically mooned over the black dragon. Now that the Night Fury actually allowed him to come near, Hiccup was taking the opportunity to take a closer look at its injury. Seeing it up close would give him a better idea of any changes he would need to make to the prosthetic before actually testing it on the dragon.

"Thanks for giving us a chance, Toothless." Hiccup told the dragon after he finished his inspection. He reached forward to scratch just under its chin as he'd seen Astrid do to Stormfly and the other dragons. "Tomorrow night I'll bring the prosthetic with me and we can test it out."

"Wait just a minute, you named it Toothless?" Astrid asked incredulously. "It's a Night Fury! And it has teeth!"

The Night Fury purred as Hiccup reached a particular sensitive spot.

"See, he likes it!"

She shook her head in mild disbelief. "No, he likes where you are scratching him. There is a difference."

Hiccup turned back to the Night Fury, now apparently dubbed Toothless despite not being toothless, and sported an adorable little pout. "Don't let her get to you, bud. It's a perfectly reasonable name."

"But he's not toothless!" She exclaimed, her hands on her hips.

"Just enjoy the irony of it, Astrid!"

Her hand rose to her forehead and she prayed to every God and Goddess she could think of to give her strength. He had the sharpest mind on Berk, but he was still a muttonhead.

A few more chin scratches later and a promise to return the next night, the Night Fury was locked back up in its cell. After retrieving the fishing basket and doing a routine check that everything in the arena was left exactly how they originally found it, Hiccup and Astrid made their way back into the village. Unlike most nights, where they separated and went home quickly, they found themselves lingering longer than usual. Now that the excitement of the Night Fury—Toothless—had passed, all that had happened just before that came crashing back to the forefront of Astrid's thoughts. They had kissed, several times in fact, and it was better than she ever dreamed it could be. Things seemed to be moving and changing rather fast, but that was part of the excitement. Not an hour ago her future looked quite bleak. But now…

She found herself watching Hiccup as he tucked the fishing basket back into the food storage house, a task he normally would have completed alone on his way back home, but she could not bring herself to leave yet. It was a silent affair. When they finished and began to make their way back to their homes, she noticed that Hiccup appeared just as lost in his thoughts as she had been. Was he thinking of her to? Despite his bold declaration of his feelings for her, his sudden silence unnerved her. He was acting as if nothing had happened. What if he had changed his mind? What if he regretted telling her? What if he had been taken over by a bout of temporary insanity and had not meant any of it? What if—

"You okay, Astrid? You're looking a little green."

The worry in his voice made her want to swoon and swear at the same time.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired is all." She lied, swallowing the bile threatening to rise from her anxious stomach.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed and fixed pointedly on the hand twisting on the end of her thick braid. She groaned, knowing that she was caught. He knew she was lying. He probably knew even without the telltale sign of her pulling on her braid. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she searched for the right words to explain how she was feeling. Everything sounded so childish and stupid in her head. Hiccup suddenly grabbed her hand and tugged her from the street and into a darkened space between two houses. She instinctively pressed herself back against the wall of the nearest house as his hands came to rest on either side of her head, forcing her to look him in the eye. His green eyes were worried, hurt even.

"Do you—do you regret…" He trailed off meekly, unable to finish.

"No. Do you?" Her eyes lowered to focus on the scar on his chin, instead of his eyes.

His answer was quick, firm, and resolute. "Never."

Her eyes finally rose to meet his and a warm smile passed between the two new lovers. Everything had changed. Things were not one hundred percent resolved between them; too much had happened to just let it go with a few kisses. But Astrid was anxious to start again and get to know this Hiccup. For too long she had been referring to and comparing nineteen-year-old Hiccup to her fifteen-year-old best friend. He had changed. But so had she. It was time to move forward and rediscover each other, together.

His hands slowly fell away from the wall and for a moment, Astrid thought that he was going grab her and kiss her again. Her eyes fluttered closed instinctively, only to shoot back open moments later when she left a rush on cold air against her skin. Hiccup was slowly backing away from her with a mischievous smirk, leaving her leaning heavily against the random house.

"I'll see you tomorrow, milady. Sweet dreams."

And then, he was gone.

—

 **[1] There were several reasons that women were expected to remain chaste until their wedding nights in Viking society. First and foremost, a maiden made for a higher bride-price. Also, Vikings did not have any sort of reliable birth control and the engagement of premarital sex ran the risk of illegitimate children. Illegitimate children were a potential financial hardship against a women's family. Children recognized by their father received approximately two-thirds of compensation from their father and his kin, but children unrecognized by their fathers—bastards—were supported entirely by their mother and her family.**

 **[2] "** _ **There is no grave, no memory. Nothing.**_ **" Totally un-HTTYD-related. I stole this line from The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies when (MILD SPOILER) Legolas tells Tauriel about his mother's death at Gundabad (/MILD SPOILER). The power of his words struck me and I felt, although a totally different situation, that they were appropriate here as well. As Valka was carried away by Cloudjumper, there would be no body to bury. Berk** _ **could**_ **have built a memorial for her—however, there is never any mention of that in the movies/series and considering Valka's less than stellar reputation as being a dragon sympathizer, I find it highly unlikely that there would have been anything publicly made for her.**

 **[3] And the truth comes out! If you look back on the past dragon training segments or the two dragon raids that have occurred in this story, you should find this statement to be true. Every time Hiccup has harmed or killed a dragon, has been done to protect someone else —** **usually Astrid** **. Killing is not in Hiccup's nature in canon, nor is it in this AU. It is something that he struggles with guilt wise, which is why there is always a mention of him making some kind of face or acting irritable after attacking/killing a dragon. I hope this now satisfies those of you who disliked the fact that Hiccup is a dragon-killer in this AU. He does it more out of necessity and because it is his duty as the heir of Berk to protect his people.**

 **[4] A** _ **fastnandi**_ **is the person responsible for the bride's interests during the negotiation of a marriage contract. Typically, the fastnandi would be the bride's father, a brother if the father is deceased, or another living male relative if the father and brothers are all deceased. In this story, I have opted out of giving Astrid siblings or other living relatives aside from Herleva to highlight the isolation that the Hofferson's feel. There are few rare cases where the bride's mother might negotiate a marriage contract if there are no other able representatives. However, given the status of the Hofferson clan, this likely would not be allowed. Luckily for Astrid, her betrothal to Hiccup was arranged for her** **before** **her uncle and father's deaths, when her family was still in good standing on Berk. The contract was never declared null because of the Chief's mercy alone.** **Perhaps he could not go against the wishes of his late wife** **—but that is all I will say for now. We will hear more about Stoick's thoughts concerning Hiccup and Astrid's betrothal later on.**

 **[5] A** _ **concubine**_ **is basically a bed slave. They were women of the lowest social class who were purchased by married men to be sexually available. Concubines were generally tolerated by the man's wife simply because they did not pose a threat to the wife's position in the marriage because of their status. Before she realized that she was his betrothed, Astrid thought that Hiccup was suggesting** **she** **play the role of a concubine or mistress in his marriage. Obviously Hiccup would** **never** **do such a thing.**

 **[6] The** _ **morgen-gifu,**_ **more commonly known as the "morning gift," was something given to the bride after the consummation. It was given to the bride from her husband as compensation for her virginity (if she were a maiden) or simply for her sexual availability (if she had been married before and therefore was not a virgin). The morning gift could include anything from material goods, precious jewels, household items, livestock, land or estates. When compared to the bride's dowry, the morning gift would equal anywhere between one-third to one-half of the dowry value. Hiccup made Astrid a pretty fancy axe to be part of the morning gift, but he likely would have given her other gifts as well should the marriage have happened when it was supposed to. Darn that Flightmare...**

—

 **This chapter was an absolute BEAST.**

 **The other shoe has dropped. Now you guys know basically everything—what Hiccup's childhood was like, why he was avoiding Astrid, why he was so angry with her during dragon training (other than jealousy)—it's all been laid down on the line in this chapter folks. And SURPRISE! How many of you saw a marriage contract coming? I know a couple reviewers mentioned the possibility of Astrid's axe being part of a bride price very early on, but most of you said you had theories and were waiting to see how things played out. I've tried to give small hints in previous chapters (** **especially the last chapter when they are talking in the forge and Hiccup asks her if they can "** _ **try again**_ **"—bet that line makes more sense now, huh?** **)**

 **Holy cheese. This is by far the sappiest thing I have EVER written, fanfiction or otherwise. For those of you that hate sappy, juicy romances, I apologize. Things will get back to normal after this chapter but for ONE scene I just had to, I could not stop it. Hiccup and Astrid are both very new to the romance department so things between them going forward will be awkward, yet they** **are** **teenagers so…yeah, hormones. Now that the major shock of their betrothal is out of the way, they have to adjust to it. Hiccup has had several years to get used to the idea of marrying Astrid one day (hopefully), but this is all brand new to her. That being said, their romance is** _ **not**_ **the main focus of this story. This AU is a drama and a tale of adventure as well. This chapter was an** **exception** **in that it was heavily romance-centric. For the remainder of the story, it will be more balanced between a drama/adventure** **and** **a romance.**

 **So much happened in this chapter, I'm not even going to try to give a recap! Between the Hiccstrid and Toothless, I mean, what else can I say other than I warned you on the doozy feels?! The confession scene between Hiccup/Toothless with Astrid listening is one of the very first things that I wrote in my outline when beginning this story over a year ago. Somehow, this** **entire** **behemoth (yes, I am referring to it as a behemoth now) spawned from that one little scene. :D**

 **Please leave me your thoughts. I'm extremely anxious to hear what you all have to say about this chapter; especially since it is completely different from anything I've ever written before! If you have questions about anything that happened in this chapter or even previous chapters, PLEASE ask. I've tried to explain things the best that I can, but sometimes even I can get as confused as the characters…so yeah. Ha.**

 **Until next time,**

— **Mari.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Chapter Eleven**

Cold wind rushed against her skin, numbing her hands and her cheeks.

Stormfly chirped in delight as they burst through the last layer of dense cloud cover, bringing the dragon and Viking pair into the endless afternoon sky. But Astrid was not interested in the view before her. No, she was far more interested in what might possibly be down below. She daringly leaned forward to look down past her Nadder's flank. The clouds were thick but somewhat spotty. She could just make out patches of the ocean expanse below. To her disappointment, that was exactly what she found—a mass of uninterrupted ocean with not a single ship in sight. She frowned and urged Stormfly to fly just a bit faster with a gentle nudge of her knee. They did not have much more time before they needed to turn back to Berk. The blue Nadder complied with a squawk.

It had been several weeks since the Chief's ship departed in search of the dragons nest and whispers were beginning to spread through the village. The ships usually were not gone for so long. Two, maybe three weeks tops, but it had been far longer than that since the Chief and his war party set sail. Even Gothi, under her usual deep set wrinkles, appeared more troubled than usual as they days slowly past without any sign of them. Hiccup did not talk about it, but Astrid knew that he was putting on a brave face for the village. He had to remain strong, seemingly unworried by his father's prolonged absence, but in reality, she knew that he shared in his people's worries. If the ships were gone for too much longer, the ice would begin to set in. But at this point, there was little that could be done.

She had overheard gossip in the village that morning that the remaining members of the council had suggested sending out another boat to search of the war party, but apparently Hiccup, as acting chief, was reluctant to do so. She could not fault him for his hesitancy and in fact, she rather admired him for it. Although it was suggested with good intentions in mind, it would be a fool's errand. They had no idea where to begin searching. Sending out another ship so close to would take too long, even with a light load and favorable winds. What would happen if this ship became trapped in the ice or went missing too? Was Berk to loose even more of its warriors? That was when Astrid had an idea of her own. What better way to search for the missing ships than on dragonback? It would be much faster and safer. If she did find the missing ships and they were in need of a rescue boat, she could discretely hint to Hiccup where to send it.

It was an easy, all-around good plan.

Or so she thought.

That was how she found herself in the current situation. She had told no one where she was going—not that she would have told any except for Hiccup and she had deliberately decided not to tell him. Not only had she not seen him that morning, but she knew that he would have tried to stop her if he knew, saying that it was too dangerous for her to fly so far from Berk alone. She had little choice however, as he could not fly Toothless yet and even if he rode with her on Stormfly, his daytime absence was sure to be noticed. Thus, she went alone and told no one.

Dragon and Viking continued flying further north, despite the bitter cold, and in the direction that the ships had originally set sail. But unfortunately, there was no way to know if it was the right direction. Although the weather as of late had been mildly pleasant on Berk, storms on the open sea could appear without warning and have little to no impact on the mainland. Perhaps bad weather had caused the chief's ships to fall off course and that was why it was taking them so long to return. Astrid made sure to maintain a weathered eye on the ocean below for any sight of Berkian vessels. But as the hours passed without any sign of the ships, her initial optimism began to wane.

"Time to go back, girl." She told finally the Nadder as the sun's rays began to take on a pink tone.

Stormfly trilled in reply.

Despite turning back south, the air turned harsher the longer that they remained in the sky. Even the steady heat radiating from Stormfly's scales was not enough to keep Astrid from shivering. She wondered if she could convince Hiccup to fashion her some kind of cloak or hood to shield the wind while flying. He was so talented at making his own armor after all. By the time that Stormfly landed back within the grove, Astrid was so cold that she could barely dismount her dragon properly. She more or less slid off onto the ground on stiff legs.

Suddenly, her view of the forest was constricted by darkness but she was also very, very warm. After a few moments of confusion, she realized that she was tucked against Stormfly's scales with the Nadder's wings enclosed tightly around her to keep out the chill. She felt a touch of gratitude towards her reptilian companion. Stormfly had sensed her rider's distress and acted appropriately. Astrid murmured her thanks to her dragon while snuggling in closer to her flank. She promised herself that she would only stay for a few minutes, just enough to get the feeling back in her fingers and her toes. A small rumble of her stomach ultimately made the decision for her. In her haste to leave that morning after her chores were finish, Astrid had not eaten much for _dagmál_. A piece of bread and a little bit of dried fruit was not enough to keep her full the entire day. She really hoped that Sebbi, the village cook, had made more of his delicious yak stew for that evening.

After retrieving her axe from its hidden place under an inconspicuous pile of brush, she turned back to her dragon friend. "I will see you tomorrow, Stormfly." She told the dragon while stroking her snout. Stormfly nuzzled her and made a few sad chirping sounds, something Astrid had come to realize was the dragon's way of saying that she would miss her Viking companion. "It will be here before you know it, girl! And we may be going on another adventure. Perhaps more north-east next time? We need to find the Chief's ships."

With one last pat, Astrid shouldered her axe and left the clearing. Weeks of navigating the dense forest had led her to know the quickest way back to the village by heart. Within minutes, the familiar sounds of the village reached her ears. She exited the tree line only to scream when an arrow unexpectedly whizzed by her face. Someone snickered.

"What the Hel!" Astrid turned, her face twisted in anger, to find her best friend standing a good five yards away with another arrow nocked in the bowstring and a mischievous grin on her lips. " _RUFFNUT_!"

"Think you can cut down an arrow with your axe?"

Astrid balked at the other blonde. "You…are insane!"

Without warning, Ruffnut let the arrow fly. The shot was not directly aimed at the Hofferson girl, Ruffnut had actually aimed her shot at a tree just over Astrid's shoulder, but Astrid herself did not know that. The axe-thrower reacted on instinct as soon as the shot was released and swung her weapon with all her might at the incoming arrow just as one would take a bludgeon to a ball. To both girl's surprise, the blade of the axe cut straight through the shaft and split the arrow cleanly in two.

Ruffnut had the audacity to clap in approval.

Astrid's chest was heaving, not from exertion, but rage. How could Ruffnut do something so reckless? "You could have killed me!" She screeched in fury.

Ruffnut shrugged and lowered her bow. "Nah, I knew you'd hit it."

The nonchalance in which Ruffnut spoke ignited even more anger within the shorter blonde. Ruffnut could be so irresponsible sometimes! Amongst her exasperated thoughts, an idea abruptly came to her. Her rush to get to the Great Hall was quickly forgotten as she thought back to Ruffnut's offer to spar the day before. Although she knew that she probably stood no chance against the more experienced warrior, in her current state she did not care. Ruffnut would never see the offer coming. Even better, it would be impossible for her friend to resist.

"I believe you owe me a sparring session." Astrid said coolly.

As expected, Ruffnut's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Right now?"

Astrid smirked, feeling incredibly confident that her friend would take the bait.

Ruffnut thought over the suggestion for a few moments before nodding in approval. She strapped her bowstring onto her back and retrieved her spear from where it lay in the long grasses by her feet. Once it was in her hand, she twirled the weapon in her hands as if it were a toy.

The attempt to show off her skill was completely unnecessary. Astrid already knew just how much skill her friend had with a spear. Despite the angry adrenalin fueling her, she also felt a bit nervous and wondered if perhaps she had made a rash decision. Sure, she knew the basics of axeplay—it was her mother's weapon of choice and Herleva had tried to teach her daughter how to defend herself after her husband's death—but Ruffnut had far more experience when it came to sparring. Nevertheless, Astrid could not allow herself to back down. Not now. Besides, it did not even matter if she won, just as long as she got some good hits in.

"So, shall we?"

Astrid took a deep breath and met her friend's gaze straight on, hoping that she appeared more confident that she felt. "Ready when you are."

"Okay, we fight until one of us is disarmed. Just…try not to aim for the face."

"What's wrong?" Astrid teased. "Scared that _Fishy_ will not like it if I give you a cool new battle scar?" For all that Ruffnut had teased her about Hiccup recently, it was nice to return the favor.

Ruffnut sneered at her, "I was trying to be nice but if you want to be like that, fine!"

Astrid took another deep breath, held her axe out in front of her in a defensive stance, and waited. She stood very still, absolutely sure that Ruffnut would be the one to strike first. Her assessment was correct as Ruffnut suddenly rushed forward, twirling her spear between her hands, and made a quick stabbing motion towards Astrid's gut. Astrid quickly blocked the attack by twisting her axe so that Ruffnut's spear met metal instead of flesh. Ruffnut nodded in respect at the quick block and backed away.

"You're quick." She commended.

Astrid managed a taut smile in response and tightened her grip on her axe.

A tense silence fell as they circled one another. Calling upon her observation skills, Astrid carefully considered Ruffnut's expressions and body language for signs of her next move. As hard as her opponent tried to school her features, Astrid could see through the façade. Ruffnut was trying to put on an offensive front but she was not going to attack first again. It was a test. Seeing no other option, Astrid gave in. With a fierce battle cry, she lunged forward with her axe raised high. As the weapon swung down, Ruffnut clamped a hand on either side of her iron spear and raised it upwards. When the two weapons made contact, Ruffnut pushed back with all her might and threw off Astrid's balance. The smaller blonde staggered back with a growl.

They continued to exchange blows, neither making any solid hits against the other until the tip of Ruffnut's spear grazed Astrid's cheek. The sting was instant and she could still feel something warm trickle down her cheek. _Blood_. Her free hand flew to the wound. With some gentle prodding, she decided that the cut was shallow enough and breathed out a sigh of relief.

Ruffnut grinned when she saw that she had gotten a hit on Astrid, ironically on her face. "Do you regret turning down the whole 'no-blows-to-the-face' deal now?"

The wounded Viking had to bite back the true reply that had settled at the end of her tongue. _I'm sure I can get Hiccup to patch it up for me later_. That would not do. They were far too close to the village and she did not want someone to overhear. She was not sure she was ready for her relationship— _if that is even what it was_ —with Hiccup to be public just yet.

So she settled for, "It's just a scratch."

It was not long before their spar began to attract the attention of some curious bystanders from up in the village. _Oh gods, was that her mother up there?!_ It was the first time she had seen her mother since Hiccup had revealed their betrothal to her. Her mother had already been asleep when she snuck in the night before and had already gone out into the village to do her errands by the time that Astrid had awoken that morning. She had been thankful for the time to herself, as it had given her plenty of time to think over what she was going to say to her mother. As it was, she was not sure that confronting her mother about the betrothal was the smartest option. She was still coming to terms with everything herself. Surely it would be better to keep everything to herself for just a little while longer. They still had so much to do with Toothless and Hiccup's acting-in-chief duties to deal with without the added pressure of announcing their engagement on top of it all. Perhaps it would be better to wait until after the championship— _just in case anything went wrong_. Besides, in all the excitement the night before, she had forgotten that if she married Hiccup, one day she would be the chief's wife. That was a huge responsibility, a great honor. Was she up to the task?

When Herleva Hofferson suddenly began whooping and hollering for her daughter, the other spectators surprisingly joined in. After all, it was not every day that the villagers saw someone with so little training holding their own against the daughter of Geirdís Thorsten. The cheering was very disruptive. She was trying to focus. Her thoughts she could handle, but the added pressure of knowing that her mother was one of the cheering bystanders was distracting.

It was that very distraction that caused Astrid to make a very crucial mistake. In true _Hopeless Hofferson_ fashion, she stumbled over nothing but air and Ruffnut took advantage of that. Using the full force of her body, the Thorsten daughter whipped her spear around and caught the edge of the opponent's axe. To Astrid's dismay, the strength of Ruffnut's hit was enough to tear her axe from her grasp. It landed on the grassy earth several feet away. She scrambled to retrieve it but stopped when she came face to face with the end of a spear.

"Do you yield?" Ruffnut was less than impressed with her victory.

But then again, so was Astrid.

Thinking quickly, the smaller blonde twisted and swung her right foot forward where it connected with Ruffnut's knee with a sickening crack. Ruffnut howled in pain and dropped her spear, startled by the sudden attack and the pain that followed. With the spear no longer threatening her, Astrid lunged and tackled the still wailing Ruffnut to the ground and quickly pinned her arms and legs down. Feeling quite smug, Astrid leaned down closely to Ruffnut's face and asked, "Do you yield?"

For several moments, Ruffnut said nothing. She merely stared upwards in a daze, making Astrid wonder if her friend had somehow hit her head on the way down. Just as she was about to ask her if she was okay, Ruffnut's chest started to shake violently beneath her. Startled, Astrid quickly scrambled up off of her and watched in alarm as the taller girl curled onto her side.

Astrid almost felt guilty until the idiot started to laugh.

 _Laugh_.

"I—you—tackle!" Those were the only intelligible words that Astrid could positively make out. The rest was a jumbled mesh of gibberish. It took Ruffnut several minutes to recover from her laughing fit. Every time she tried to speak, all that came out was a fit of loud snorts and giggles. "And I d-do yield. This time. N-next time I will not let you win s-so easily."

Astrid laughed at the obvious challenge, thankful that her friend was okay. She had been worried there for a moment but it appeared that Ruffnut was just fine.

"You did not let me win. I won fair and square!"

"We were supposed to be fighting with weapons!"

Ruffnut of course had a point, but Astrid did not let that spoil her glory. She turned to the still growing crowd and thrust her fist in the air in victory with a beaming smile. The twenty or so onlookers' cheers were thunderous. Herleva flew down the hill with a flurry of skirts and captured her daughter in a bone cracking hug. Normally, the motherly show of affection between them would have made Astrid cringe but in her elation, she did not care. She had made her mother proud. The earsplitting grin on Herleva's face was proof of that.

Herleva touched her daughter's forehead with her own. "Yeh have done well, daughter. I couldn't be prouder." Astrid flushed at the praise. Herleva's grin turned wicked as she pulled back from the embrace. "I've got to get to the Great Hall. Geirdís is not going to believe this!"

With one last pat on the shoulder, the Hofferson matron climbed the slope back up the village and broke up the crowd of spectators.

"Shoo! Come now, off with yeh! Nothing more to see here!"

Astrid's chuckled at her mother's brazenness. The group that had assembled grumbled as Herleva shooed them off, but luckily they all seemed to comply easily enough. Astrid's stomach suddenly took that opportunity to remind her of how little she had eaten that day. During the fight she was able to ignore the hunger pains, but now it gurgled ferociously as if a dragon was attempting to crawl out of it. With a sigh, she turned her back on both Ruffnut and the dispersing crowd to retrieve her axe. As she bent down to pick it up from the tall grass, she sensed someone approaching her from behind. Believing it to be Ruffnut coming up to catch her off guard, the blonde whirled her axe around at her attacker.

She was stunned to find that it was not Ruffnut she had caught in between the curves of her double axe head, but a freckled young man with ruffled auburn hair. His green eyes were wide and his freckles stood out harshly against his pallid face. With a jolt, Astrid realized that he was frightened. He was frightened of her _—well, he was probably just frightened because of the axe head held to his throat but that was just a technicality_. She did not even feel bad about how startled he looked because really, it was his own fault for sneaking up on her like that.

"Don't. Do. That!" Astrid cried, leaving the axe at his throat for good measure.

Twin sets of obnoxious cackling laughter alerted her to the fact that Hiccup had not come alone.

"Holy mother of Thor! We were just coming to tell you girls that you were going to be late to _náttmál_ , you don't have to kill a guy over it." Hiccup said, carefully schooling his features and falling back on his typical sarcastic demeanor. "You should bring your axe by the forge sometime." He added, changing the subject but taking a nervous step back away from the irritated blonde. "I think the blade needs sharpened."

Astrid shouldered the weapon, "Yeah well, it has been getting quite a bit of use lately."

Before Hiccup could respond, Tuffnut came sprinting down the slope towards them. In his hurry, the male twin bumped into Hiccup, sending him sprawling down into the grass on his hands and knees. Tuffnut took a moment to chuckle at Hiccup's predicament before inviting himself far too close into Astrid's personal space. She grimaced as the rank odor of fish oil assaulted her nostrils and could only wonder if Tuffnut really did believe that fish oil attracted women. Her thoughts did not get any further on the matter however, as he started speaking to her, practically vibrating on the spot. "You are my new hero! Anyone that can outsmart my sister is good in my book."

"What book? You don't even read!" Hiccup grumbled from down on the ground.

"Thanks, Tuff." Astrid ignored Hiccup's insult and managed to at least offer Tuffnut a strained smile. He truly was not a bad guy, just dimwitted and smelly at times. But then again, most Viking men were. Nevertheless, Astrid backed away as politely as she could from the fish scented boy. She disguised her retreat as an effort to help Hiccup to his feet but in all actuality, the smell of the Thorston boy was about to make her gag. She now understood why Ruffnut had vomited all over Snotlout's shoes.

As if the blonde knew that Astrid had been thinking of her, Ruffnut hobbled over to the trio.

"Astrid did not outsmart me!" She declared.

Tuffnut rolled his eyes, "Uh yeah, pretty sure she did."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did _too_!"

"Did not!"

Ruffnut removed her helmet and bashed her brother in the head with it. "HA! You are an idiot!"

The male twin rubbed his injured skull with a scowl. "Butt-elf."

Hiccup, having finally regained his footing thanks to Astrid, stepped in between the two squabbling siblings. "Give it a rest, guys. We need to get to the Great Hall." He said irritably.

Tuffnut grunted in response, a mischievous twinkle appearing in his eye.

His twin however, merely rolled her eyes and began to trudge up the slope towards the village. Astrid quickly followed after her. The girls were only about halfway up the small hill when there was a loud commotion behind them. First came the sound of metal hitting metal, then minor struggling, and lastly muffled yelling that sounded an awful lot like Tuffnut. At the last sound, both girls looked back to see Tuffnut flailing on the ground with Hiccup's boot pressing down on the other boy's helmet, forcing his face into the dirt. Astrid and Ruffnut exchanged incredulous grins. For all that Hiccup was around Snotlout and Tuffnut, he was never really one to retaliate to their teasing and wrestling.

"Wow, Hic finally grew a backbone." Ruffnut remarked, leaning casually on her spear and taking in the strange sight. "Step on his face a little bit harder, Hiccup! He loves worms!" She shouted down to them.

Both boys were now laughing. Or at least, Astrid assumed that the strange, garbled sounds coming from Tuffnut was laughter. It was hard to tell with his mouth full of dirt, grass, and possibly worms. Besides, seeing Tuffnut so filthy reminded Astrid of something that she wanted to ask Ruffnut about.

"So, want to explain to me why your brother smells like fish oil?" She nearly gagged just thinking about the raunchy smell.

Ruffnut turned to her friend with a devious grin on her face. "Well, I may or may not have been the one who gave him the idea that girls think that the smell of fish oil is attractive." Astrid's jaw dropped but Ruffnut was not yet finished. "I told him the only reason I puked on Snotlout when he tried it was because I hate fish."

"But you love fish."

"He's a complete moron."

Astrid giggled, "And you're evil."

The two continued to watch Hiccup and Tuffnut wrestle in the grass until Astrid could not ignore the hunger pains any longer. After shouting for the boys to break it up—Hiccup had been the one supposedly in a hurry after all—she grabbed ahold of Ruffnut's wrist and began to drag her up to the village. When they were out of complete earshot of the boys, Ruffnut leaned over and whispered in Astrid's ear as they walked.

"Do you get some kind of satisfaction out of torturing Hiccup? Don't think I didn't see that tough girl routine with your axe to his throat. Is that some kind of creepy foreplay to you guys?"

As much as Astrid tried to fight it, her cheeks still turned beet red. "You should probably start running now." She advised.

Shrieking laughter echoed throughout the village square, all the way to the Great Hall.

—

A bizarre scene awaited Astrid when she arrived in the Kill Ring later that evening.

"Hey! Get back here you overgrown lizard!"

She found it impossible to contain her giggles at the sight of Hiccup chasing after the grounded Night Fury with the leather replacement tailfin held over his head like a bludgeon. Toothless and Hiccup appeared to be getting along splendidly. The Night Fury was bounding around with his tongue lolling out of his mouth and Hiccup was thundering after him, red in the face and shouting some very colorful curses that would have made even Stoick blush. Who knew that Hiccup had such a mouth on him?

For such a smart guy, Astrid could not help but feel as though he had not thought through his plan for attaching the prosthetic on Toothless. For one, he had started without her. Astrid was slightly miffed about that. Secondly, why had he let Toothless out of his cage? Putting the prosthetic on in a confined space would have been more ideal, less room for the temperamental dragon to run. And thirdly, he had forgotten the basket of fish to feed the other dragons with. Now, not only would she have to run to the food storage house—which was completely out of the way mind you—but she would also have to feed the other dragons amongst all the chaos going on between Hiccup and Toothless. Rolling her eyes, Astrid walked down the small slope by the gate and into the arena itself. When Hiccup chanced to run past her, she reached out and grabbed his wrist. The sudden resistance brought him to a screeching halt and the Night Fury abruptly stopped as well, confused as to why the little freckled human had stopped chasing him.

"Did you forget about feeding the other dragons?" She demanded.

Hiccup shook his head, his lips pursed into a thin line. "Already taken care of. I came a little early tonight, wanted to get started right away." He huffed. "It's a good thing I did too! This is going to take until sunrise. The _beast_ won't behave."

"Maybe if you would quit calling him names, he might listen to you." She teased and took the prosthetic tailfin from Hiccup's twitching fingers. He was too cute when he was all flustered. "Let me try."

He did not argue and instead held up his hands as if to say, ' _Be my guest_.'

Astrid slowly approached the Night Fury whose eyes were glued uncertainly on the leather piece in her hands. As she gradually closed the distance between them, she murmured softly to the agitated dragon. The familiar sound seemed to placate him. By the time she was right next to him, Toothless had plopped down on the ground and was feigning disinterest with his tail covering his face. Astrid plopped down right next to him and held the fake tailfin out for the dragon to see, even going as far as holding it to his nose so that he could curiously sniff at it. The prosthetic was huge, nearly double the size of Astrid's torso, so she could understand why Toothless was wary about it. After a few moments of sniffing, Toothless licked his jaw and lowered his head down on his forepaws, sensing that the piece of leather was of no danger to him.

"See, nothing to be afraid of here. This is going to help you!" She murmured while scratching behind the black dragon's earflaps.

When it appeared as though the Night Fury was not going to run anymore, Astrid beckoned Hiccup over with a wave of her hand and handed the artificial tailfin over to him when he reached her. She continued giving Toothless a soothing rub down while Hiccup snuck around to his backside. The next few minutes were filled with Toothless' contented purrs as Astrid scratched at his scales and Hiccup's occasional mutterings and yelps as he finagled around Toothless' swooshing tail. It was not until Astrid heard the distinct sound of a belt clicking that she stopped pampering Toothless to see what Hiccup was doing. She peered around the dragon's massive wings to see Hiccup sitting backwards on Toothless' tail, admiring his work. In fact, he was so engrossed that he failed to realize that Toothless had noticed the added weight on his tail. A feeling of dread settled in Astrid's stomach when she saw Toothless' wings rise up. But before she could utter a warning to Hiccup, the grounded Night Fury shot up off the ground with Hiccup hanging precariously to his tail.

"HICCUP!" She shouted in alarm.

" _NO-NO-NO-NO-NO! TOOTHLESSSSSS!_ "

It quickly became apparent that there was no danger of Toothless escaping the arena with the iron overhang covering it, but Astrid had other fears. The artificial tailfin worked, but only sort of. Toothless and Hiccup were not in the air for more than a few seconds before Toothless let out a panicky roar and began to plummet back towards the earth below. Hiccup began screaming obscenities and scrambling to figure out how to stop their fall. Astrid too began to panic as she watched them fall. She just did not understand. The tailfin had seemed to be working just fine and then all of a sudden it just…stopped. In that moment she wished that she had Hiccup's knowledge of aerodynamics and air currents and all that other mumbo-jumbo stuff he prattled off that went right over her head.

"Hiccup! Do something!" She cried out.

Toothless and Hiccup were mere feet was plowing into the ground. Her frightened cry was enough to help Hiccup regain his senses enough to crawl down towards the prosthetic and hold it open to mimic the opposite tailfin. She sighed with relief as Toothless shot back up into the air.

"Hey! It's working!" Hiccup cheered.

Astrid grinned so hard that her cheeks hurt.

As long as Hiccup held onto the fake tailfin and moved it to echo the real one, Toothless remained in the air. Everything was going smoothly until the Night Fury suddenly decided that he did not want Hiccup as a passenger anymore. With a flick of his tail, the force caused Hiccup to lose his seat and he tumbled down to the ground below. With Hiccup no longer controlling the tailfin, Toothless fell as well. Fortunately, it was not a long fall for Viking or dragon. Toothless obviously was completely fine. Hiccup would likely walk away with only a few bruises, but Astrid still rushed to his side and checked him over for injuries. She poked around at his ribs but everything seemed normal.

Hiccup pushed away her incessant hands and clamored up off the ground. He dusted his armor off as though nothing happened, all the while muttering about going back to the forge to revise the tail fin. "It needs to be able to adapt to different wind conditions, mimic the other fin in movement. Maybe it needs to be retractable? Or a pulley system controlled by a saddle? But then that means I have to ride him—"

Astrid cut off his jabbering with a solid punch to his bicep, "You could have been seriously hurt, Hiccup!" She hissed, careful to keep her voice down. They had already done enough yelling for one night. They were luckily enough already that they had not woken anyone up.

Hiccup grumbled quietly, surprised that her punch actually hurt but did not want Astrid to know that. She seemed very angry with her arms crossed tightly under her breasts and her mouth set in a firm line. He reached out and grabbed her hands, wanting her to share his excitement. "But Astrid, did you _see_ that?! It worked!"

"I did see." She replied dryly, her lips twitching just so. "I saw you fall too."

"That was, uh, a minor mishap. It won't happen again." He promised.

Finally, Astrid's tense posture relaxed and she smiled shyly at him. "It had better not. I would like to have you whole on our wedding day." She did not know where the boldness of her statement came from but she sure liked the shocked flush that appeared on his face.

"I will keep that in mind." He murmured, before walking over to check on Toothless.

They did not linger in the Kill Ring for much longer. After Hiccup removed the failed prosthetic from Toothless' tail, the two Vikings worked together to corral the Night Fury back into his cage. It turned out to be quite the task because all Toothless wanted to do was run. For a while, he pranced around Hiccup with his tongue hanging out again, as sign Astrid was quickly associating with a desire to play. Unfortunately, they did not have time to do so and after a bit of convincing, Toothless went quietly back into his cage.

Instead of going home straight away after leaving the arena, Hiccup asked Astrid to accompany him to the forge. She accepted immediately, eager to savor whatever time she could get with him. Not that she did not like being with the dragons, because she did. She had a soft spot for the training dragons. Each of them had wormed their way into her heart almost without her even realizing it. She would protect them with every breath she had, even though it went against every Viking law there was. Toothless was growing on her too. The snarky dragon had an attitude problem, yet underneath all that snark was a soft side. But despite her feelings for the dragons, she desperately wanted Hiccup alone.

Much like everything else in her life over the past month, her relationship with the chief's son had changed so quickly. They had gone from bitter acquaintances, to training rivals, to friends, and now—dare she say it— _lovers_? Lovers who were also secretly betrothed. Their intimate discovery of one another was so new, in the fledging stages still. Their rekindled friendship was not much further along. That was another reason she wanted to keep their betrothal a secret for just a little while longer. Four years was plenty of time for a person to change and already she was learning that nineteen-year-old Hiccup was very different from bumbling fifteen-year-old Hiccup. She wanted to rediscover him, to get to know every part of him like she once did. She wanted to talk with him until the wee hours of the morning about anything and everything as they did when they were children. And, maybe this time those talks would be stifled by the occasional kiss. _Wouldn't that be nice_ …? His lips were dangerous, a heady addiction that had plagued her mind all day long.

But now was not the time for such things.

She fought to push her shameless thoughts aside as they made their made their way through the sleeping village. The night was still and cold. She had worn a thicker, long-sleeved wool tunic that evening but it was not enough to keep out the harsh wind that was steadily growing stronger. She shivered ever so slightly and looked up to the sky. Clouds had begun to creep in from the far north, shadowing much of the moon and stars. Without the cold light to illuminate it, the village looked far more somber.

"I reckon a storm is on its way." Hiccup remarked, noticing her wary eyes on the clouds.

Astrid frowned, "It's still a little early for that, don't you think?"

"The storms came in early last year too. The ice set in not long after that." He could not hide the worry from his voice, no doubt fearing for his father's ship that had yet to return.

They reached the forge just as the wind began to howl ominously. Hiccup quickly ushered her inside and then closed the door tightly behind them. While he busied himself firing up the forge, Astrid sat down on the stool by the worktable and mulled over his words. If what he said was true, there was only a very short window of time left for her to find his father's ship. She would surely have to wake before first light to have enough time to do any real searching. Tomorrow would be rough, it was already well past midnight, but it would be worth it to see at least some of the shadows gone for Hiccup's eyes if she could find out where the ship was.

Hiccup sat the artificial tailfin down on the worktable along with a few improved sketches he had completed over the last few days, but he did not start working right away as Astrid expected. Instead he shuffled in front of her, emerald eyes piercing. "I see that look in your eyes, what are you planning?" He asked suspiciously.

She faked innocence and hoped it was believable. "I don't know what you are talking about, Hiccup."

"Are you sure?" He leaned down closer, his breath fanning her face.

"Quite sure."

"Then why do I not believe you?"

Their argument—if you could call it that—was forgotten the moment that his lips touched hers. But it was not at all what Astrid was expecting. The desperate fire from the previous night was gone, replaced by innocent hesitance, as neither had much experience when it came to kissing. The previous night had been a fluke, fueled by emotion and lust. Tonight, they kissed softly at first and then gradually delved deeper, exploring one another in a more intimate way. She brought her hand up to his face and gently ran her thumb over his barely-there scruff. The feel of his sharp jaw, the smoothness of his lips, the sweet taste of his breath—it was all so intoxicating. She needed more, needed to feel him closer. She instinctively spread her legs on the stool and fisted shaky fingers into his leathers, pulling him into her parted thighs. The action pushed her skirt up dangerously high but she paid it little mind, especially when Hiccup cupped her face with one hand and sucked her bottom lip into his mouth.

He pressed her further back against the worktable and steadied his free hand against the wooden surface as the stool she sat on tilted back unevenly on two legs. They fell flush against one another, not an inch of space between them. Hiccup hummed a low moan deep in his throat before tilting his head and gently nudged his tongue against her supple lips, asking for entrance. Tentatively, she opened for him, only to let out an uncharacteristic girlish giggle when she felt his tongue touch hers. It was warm and wet, but not at all unpleasant. Quite the opposite really. It was somehow even more maddening than the desperate kisses from the night before.

But before they had the chance to fully explore this new kind of kissing, the sound of the forge door creaking open forced both teenagers to freeze in their ministrations. A cold burst of howling wind cut through the cozy warmth that had slowly been forming in the room from the hearth. Someone was coming. Astrid began to panic. Their short-lived romance was about to be exposed and even worse, the prosthetic and Hiccup's designs were out in plain sight on the table behind them. Sure, they were partially hidden in the very back of the forge but it was only a matter of time before they would be discovered. There was no time to hide everything and her presence in the forge at such an hour would not be easily explained away.

Before she even had the chance to fully wrap her head around the consequences that would come from such a scandal, Hiccup looked her determinedly in the eye. "Do you trust me?" He whispered.

Astrid nodded stiffly, afraid to speak.

She let out a squeal of surprise when Hiccup quickly pulled her up from the chair and all but tossed her up onto the worktable. She landed ungracefully, the sketches crumpling and part of the prosthetic digging crudely into her backside. The sounds of a hobbled gait closed in on them and her heart thudded painfully in her chest. _What was he doing?!_

They were dead.

So dead.

"Hiccup—" Her protest was caught off when he took her face in his hands and pulled her down to meet his waiting lips.

She immediately began to struggle against him.

How was this a plan?

" _Shhh_ , it's just Gobber." He murmured, as if that was supposed to calm her down—it did not. She whimpered at the thought of the blacksmith seeing them in such a compromising position. "Trust me. It is better he see this than Toothless' prosthetic." He assured her before leaning down to capture her rigid lips again.

There was a gasp of surprise and then awkward throat clearing.

"Aye! This here in a smithy, not a lovers hideaway! Yeh and yer lady friend need to take this someplace else!"

Hiccup pulled away and turned his head to look at Gobber sheepishly, but did not appear all that concerned that the old blacksmith had caught them. Astrid on the other hand was praying that the gods would take mercy on her and open up the ground to swallow her whole. She hid behind Hiccup as best as she could and kept her eyes trained on the dirt floor beneath her, absolutely refusing to make eye contact.

"Sorry Gobber, we were just talking—"

Astrid raised her eyes just enough to glare at Hiccup's back.

 _Idiot_.

"Oh were yeh now? Cause that sure didn't look like talking to me!"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, w-well things escalated pretty quickly and—"

"I don't need to know details, boy. Yeh should know better! I know yer curious and all but I can't have yeh defiling the forge, especially when you are— _Odin's beard, it's Astrid!_ " Gobber did not sound angry, only surprised. Knowing she could not hide any longer, Astrid bravely met his dumbfounded gaze and braced herself for the stern lecture that was bound to follow.

So logically, she flinched when instead he began to laugh.

"Well it's about time! Finally won her back with the ol' Haddock charm, eh?"

"Ahhh, wait—what?" Hiccup's brows pulled together in utter confusion.

Gobber reached out and clapped Hiccup's shoulder, making the bewildered Viking's knees buckle from the sheer force of it. "Yer father owes me a yak when he gets back! I told him it was bound to happen sooner or later!" Astrid and Hiccup both stared at him with identical stunned expressions. "Well don't mind me. I just came to check on the door, what with that nasty wind and all. I'll just be…going…now. Lock up when yer…eh, finished." He cheekily grinned from ear to ear and began to clumsily back away from them, knocking over a few broken shields in the process.

"Wait!" Hiccup called out, momentarily coming out of his stupor. "Gobber, please don't breathe a word of this to anyone. We don't want a fuss."

"Yer secret is safe with me." The blacksmith promised with a short nod. "Just be a little more discrete from now on. Yeh know the two of yeh aren't supposed to be alone together."

"I don't know what could be more discrete than the forge in the middle of the night…" Hiccup mumbled under his breath.

Gobber chuckled in response.

And just as suddenly as he appeared, the older peg-legged man was gone. When the door to the forge slammed shut, Astrid wasted little time jumping off the table and marched straight up to Hiccup, giving him a glare that could have made him burst into flames if she had the ability. She was shorter than him, her nose just barely reaching his lips, but with the fury rolling off of her in waves, she was certainly the more intimidating of the two at the moment. Hiccup nervously backed away from her until his back hit the bench and he could go no further. Her hand curled into a tight fist and with all her might, she punched Hiccup in the forearm for the second time that night. Although she knew that he could scarcely feel the blow through his armor, it made her feel better to see that he flinched all the same.

His expression crumpled into that of sheepish remorse as he stuttered out half-hearted apologizes.

"That was for being an idiot!" She snarled over his stammering. "What kind of plan was that?"

Hiccup winced again at her furious tone. "O-okay, okay, I will admit that it was not the smartest of plans…but it was better that he see us kissing than the prosthetic! Dad told Gobber about our betrothal years ago. He is one of the very few that do know about it and he won't say anything since I've asked him not to. Gobber is family, we keep our secrets to our own." The explanation came out in such a rush that Astrid had a hard time distinguishing all the words, but she got the gist of it. When she took a step back without hitting him again, he relaxed his nervous stance and reached back out for her, his long fingers grasping her elbows. "I'm sorry that I embarrassed you, Astrid. I know that is why you're angry."

"You're not wrong." She turned away from him, suddenly finding a broken sword in the corner much more interesting.

"We will be more careful next time." He promised.

The still fuming part of her wanted to bite back that there would not be a next time, but the sensible side of her knew that the callous words were not only false, but completely unwarranted. Hiccup did not deserve her anger. It had been her idea for him to help the Night Fury. Why should she fault him for doing just that? If she had to choose between exposing their courtship or something that could expose Stormfly, she would have made the same decision. There was no contest between which would be the more disastrous option. While they might receive a lot of flack and more scorn from the village for courting, at least no one would die over it. Exposing their friendly relationships with Stormfly, Toothless, or any of the other dragons on the other hand would result in nothing _but_ death. Her ire quickly fizzled out when she came to that realization. So to rectify her anger towards him and show her acceptance of his apology, Astrid reached up and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"What was that for?" He asked softly when she pulled away.

"That's for…everything else."

Embarrassed, Astrid tried to pull away from him but Hiccup was having none of that.

"Come here you." He whispered and captured her eager lips with his own.

—

 **Sorry about the delay in posting folks. Those of you who reviewed for chapter ten already know this but for those who did not, real life has been increasingly hectic between taking on more hours at my job and trying to make it through my final semester of college as midterms start to creep up. I have decided to start doing** **biweekly updates** **instead of weekly ones. I hope you all can bear with me on this decision because I am quickly running out of my pre-written chapter cushion and I am not writing new ones any faster than I was when I first started posting two months ago. The new posting schedule will see me through the end of the school semester with the chapters that I currently have written. So even if I do not find the time to write much in these next couple months, you will not be stuck waiting forever in between updates.**

 **No historical footnotes this time around. I think this may be the only chapter out of the seventeen I've completed thus far that does not have footnotes. This ended up being more a filler chapter, with some important bits and pieces sprinkled in among the silliness and the hormones.** **Hopefully the sparring scene is not too awkward. I do not have much experience writing fight sequences except in my own personal writing.** **The last few chapters have been very much Astrid/Hiccup centric as they work on Toothless' prosthetic and their complicated feelings for each other, so I wanted to throw in some comedic relief near the beginning of the chapter in the form of Ruff and Tuff for you guys. In case anyone was wondering,** _ **butt-elf**_ **is my favorite Thorsten twin insult ever. (Although** _ **she**_ **-** _ **beast**_ **is certainly a close second. I am hoping to work that one in at some point.)**

 **For those of you who were hoping Astrid would confront her mother over the marriage contract in this chapter, sorry but it is not going to happen just yet. She still is trying to come to terms with the contract herself and for the moment, it is in her and Hiccup's best interest if they keep everything to themselves and continue sneaking around to the best of their ability for a while longer. The anxiously awaited mother/daughter confrontation will come but as you soon will see, there are going to be other issues that take precedence... *** _ **whistles awkwardly**_ *****

 **And on that note—**

 **The response for chapter ten was simply amazing and overwhelmingly positive! I honestly did not think** _ **Drengskapr**_ **would make it over two hundred reviews but once again, you guys have blown me away. I can't thank you all enough for all the incredible support and encouragement you all have given me thus far. With spacing out the posting schedule, I hope that I am able to continue giving you regular updates. :)**

— **Mari.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Chapter Twelve**

Multiple days of getting only four, maybe five hours, of sleep at night were beginning to take their toll. Even when she did lay down to sleep at night, her dreams were nothing but restless. Her time was filled to capacity, every single moment of every single day was planned to fit in as much as possible. Her mornings were filled with chores, her afternoons were spent searching for the still missing boats, and her evenings were dedicated to Hiccup and the dragons. That left little time for a moment's peace, other than what few stolen moments she was able to spend with Hiccup before turning in each night. However, the lack of sleep was undoubtedly worth it when she rationalized what all she and Hiccup had accomplished in the past few days.

Hiccup and Toothless were now getting along much better, although they still occasionally fought like a couple of stubborn yaks. Toothless' artificial tail fin was improving as well. After the first disastrous attempt earlier in the week, Hiccup fashioned a saddle so that he could ride on Toothless and revised the prosthetic to open when it was pulled on by a rope. The idea was there in theory but when it came time to put it into practice, it was as equally disastrous as Hiccup's first attempt. First of all, Toothless initially hated the rope and the saddle, seemingly displeased that he had to have a human's help with flying. Secondly, the rope system Hiccup designed only worked if he was actually _on_ Toothless. All it took was for Hiccup to tug just a little too hard on the rope and the experiment would be done for when he lost his balance.

So on the third attempt, Hiccup added a bungee cord connecting the saddle to his leather armor and controlled the rope with his foot instead of his hands to give himself better stability. The third modification was better but from her watch post at Toothless' cage, Astrid still winced every time dragon and human crash landed into the arena floor. Even with the rope soundly attached to Hiccup's foot, Astrid observed that he still jerked on the rope too hard at times. The erratic performance of the rope would never hold up in the sky where wind conditions were much more unpredictable. Luckily, all of the tests were completed within the safety of the arena as per Astrid's request. Sure, it was much less space to work with but she was not about to watch Hiccup and Toothless plummet thousands of feet to their deaths if she could help it. They just were not ready. Although Toothless had developed a habit of catching Hiccup within his massive wings to cushion most falls, there was no amount of protecting Toothless could do that would save them when it came to the kind of heights she and Stormfly flew at.

When she finally voiced her observation about the rope after a dozen or so crashes, Hiccup surprisingly agreed with her.

" _The controls need to be more precise. The rope is too erratic_." He reasoned.

It was Hiccup's fourth modification that Astrid thought showed promising signs of being successful up in the open sky. Hiccup replaced the original unstable rope with system of pulleys and cables attached to the left stirrup of Toothless' saddle. With specific manipulations made to the stirrup by Hiccup's left foot, the pulleys and cables would allow the artificial left tail fin to open and close seamlessly with the existing right one. Hiccup tested the new alteration on the ground first and it appeared as though it would actually work. Astrid helped by drawing a rough cheat sheet of the different positions for Hiccup to tack onto the saddle. Then, in what seemed like no time at all, Hiccup and Toothless were flying lazy loops around the arena. When they finally landed, Astrid raced over to the pair and pulled Hiccup down by his tunic into a searing kiss.

But unfortunately, for all their success, they were still miles away from the finished product and their time was quickly running out. Hiccup had made the fourth modification the previous day, _óðinsdagr_. It was now _þórsdagr_. That left only two more days for improvements before the championship **[1]**.

Hiccup would never admit it out loud, but he was nearing his breaking point. Astrid could see his calm façade cracking a little more each day. He was just as exhausted as she was and he had so much more on his plate. He was worried that his father's ships had yet to return from the raid, he was acting chief, he was still competing in dragon training, and he was still pulling doubles in the forge during the afternoons to replenish the armory. Not to mention, he was training a dragon and in a few days there was a high chance that he was going to be expected to the kill said dragon in front of the entire village. When she considered all of that, Astrid was ashamed for thinking she had it rough when in reality, her own problems were not even close to what Hiccup was dealing with. She wanted to help, but knew that she could not. Most of his tasks were things that he unfortunately had to deal with alone. After all, she was no use in the forge and it was certainly not her place to help with his acting chief duties.

"Like Hiccup said, we just have to _try_." Astrid muttered out loud, absentmindedly scratching at Stormfly's neck. "And we are. That is why you and I are out here now, searching for the lost ships. If we find them, we can send out a rescue ship and it will be one less thing Hiccup has to worry about."

The Nadder crooned a soft reply below her.

That _þórsdagr_ marked nearly a month since the chief and his warriors set out in search for the dragon's nest. Astrid was growing increasingly more and more desperate to find them with each trip she and Stormfly made. Signs of _vintr's_ swift approach were evident the further north that they traveled. Some portions of those far northern seas had even began the process of freezing over. It was only a short matter of time before the ice would extend to Berk. All it would take would be one storm—and if the darkening clouds on the horizon that afternoon were any indication, Astrid reckoned that might occur sooner than later. They had just started their search for the day and were not very far from Berk yet. She urged Stormfly faster. Dragon and rider zipped over the dark ocean, heading straight for the ominous looking clouds.

The winds picked up considerably the further they flew from Berk. Astrid shivered, tucking herself in closer to Stormfly's warm scales. She was still not used to the kind of cold one could feel while flying a dragon. It cut through her like knives, making every muscle tighten painfully. Fortunately, she had thought to wear her heaviest winter furs that morning. Her mother had shot her a strange look to see her dawning such heavy attire so early in the season, but luckily did not press on the matter. Not that Astrid had exactly given her a chance. She had all but ran out the door as soon as she had finished her chores, skipping a proper _dagmál_ once again. Her stomach growled at the reminder. Perhaps she still had a bit of dried fruit in her pouch. It would not be much, but it was better than nothing. Before she could appease her ravenous stomach however, Stormfly trilled urgently to capture her rider's attention.

"What is it, girl? Do you see something up ahead?"

The Nadder trilled again in response and Astrid felt her heart quicken in anticipation. She tightened her leather covered fingers around the Nadder's crown and kept a steady eye on the horizon. Stormfly's eyesight was unquestionably better than hers because for a long time, Astrid saw nothing but frothy waves and the occasional sea dragon surfacing. But then, she saw it. A tiny brown and cream dot. The pair pushed on and gradually, the dot formed into the contours of a single ship. For a moment, Astrid felt her heart sink. Stoick had set out with several ships and if that was all that was left…

Soon, they were close enough to the ship to see its sails. Astrid urged Stormfly up into the safety of a low cloud bank when she recognized the insignia on the main sail.

The ship was from Berk!

But that knowledge did not bring her joy as she thought it would, not with the state that the lone ship was in. She quietly asked Stormfly to hover for a moment, her eyes taking in the extent of damage. The wooden vessel was charred in many places, its sails ripped beyond repair. Astrid immediately understood why it was taking them so long to return to Berk. Without the sails, they were forced to drift along, completely at the mercy of the winds. Not only that, but the boat was bogged down with far too many passengers, more than it was meant to efficiently carry. Berk's ships were built for speed, not heavy cargo. The excess weight no doubt also slowed their return.

She looked over the boats occupants, searching for one man in particular. Her heart nearly forced its way into her throat when she finally caught sight of the heavy set frame of their chief. Stoick was okay. Hiccup's father was alive. She recognized several others as well—Spitelout, Phlegma, Hoark. It appeared as those most of the warriors were returning alive. And fortunately, luck was on their side that day. The heavy winds were pushing them in the right direction, straight for Berk. They were so close! If the winds remained favorable, the vessel would reach the isle by late afternoon.

She had to tell Hiccup.

Astrid urged Stormfly back to Berk as fast as the Nadder could possibly fly. It was much faster that they had ever dared to go before. If she had thought the wind cut through her furs before, it was nothing compared to the excruciating sting she encountered now. But in her excitement, it was easy to ignore the pain. Stormfly landed gracefully in the grove in what seemed like no time at all. Astrid pried her frozen fingers from the Nadder's crown and clumsily slid down her flank, landing on her backside in the dirt. Stormfly chirped and tried to nudge the frozen Viking back to her feet like a mother hen to her hatchling.

"I'm okay, Stormfly." Astrid reassured her with a short laugh. "Just give me a minute. I can't feel my legs."

Understanding the Viking's predicament, Stormfly nuzzled close and once again wrapped Astrid up within her brightly colored wings. Astrid wanted to protest, she was in a hurry to return to the village, but it was so warm within the cocoon of Stormfly's wings. She could not resist the urge to curl into herself, pressing as close to Stormfly's underside as she could. Slowly, she warmed enough to regain the feeling back in her face, fingers, and toes. The brazen part of her wanted to rush away right then and there, even though the rest of her body was still painfully numb. The sensible part of her knew however, that she would reach Berk much faster, and safer, once she regained the feeling in her legs. Thus, she remained curled against her Nadder until she felt thawed enough to be able to return to the village without stumbling every two steps.

When Stormfly eventually released her from her hold, Astrid glanced up through the spotty treetops above her and blanched at the sight of the darkening sky. Whether the darkness was from the clouds she had spotted on the horizon earlier or evening's approach, she was not for certain. How much time had she wasted trying to warm up? Surely it had not been that long. The only way to find out was to return to the village. With a hurried apology to the Nadder for her rushed departure, Astrid all but sprinted back to the village. Visibility in the dense forest was quickly dimming along with the darkening sky and she found herself stumbling quite a few times on unseen tree roots and rocks. It took her longer than normal to make her way back.

She breathed out a heavy sigh of relief when she finally burst from the tree line and caught sight of her destination ahead. The village square was still bustling, with many Vikings still milling about and occasionally stopping to chat with one another. Perhaps it was not as late as she feared, but then that meant that the darkening sky meant that a possible storm was on its way. She quickened her pace, checking every possible place she could think of for the chief's son. In her hurry she wound up stumbling into quite a few annoyed villagers.

" _Hey_! Watch it!"

It was Snotlout.

 _Perfect_.

A thought came to her. Snotlout and Hiccup were relatively close. They spent quite a lot of time training and learning the ins and outs of running the village together. If anyone would know where Hiccup was, it would be Snotlout.

Astrid paused just long enough to shoot him an apologetic smile. Snotlout balked at the gesture, his heavy set eyebrows disappearing under his hairline. "Sorry, Snotlout! Have you seen Hiccup?" She hoped the words came out breezily, void of the anxiety she felt.

"Why do _you_ want to know?"

"Just tell me if you know where he is or not."

Snotlout narrowed his eyes, "He's busy."

Her exasperation spiked at his short tone and she returned his glare with one of her own. This was exactly why she avoided speaking to him if she could help it. He could be so patronizing at times, but he had honestly been better as of late. He had not been making as many derisive comments against her for one thing. In fact, he had mostly been ignoring her presence. So what changed?

"Snotlout!" She snarled.

He ignored her warning, "I know you may think I'm pretty stupid, but I know what is going on between you and my cousin. I don't know what you _think_ you're doing, but we both know that Hiccup deserves better." He hissed, his blue-grey eyes burning with resentment. "Stay away from him."

 _Oh_.

Astrid staggered back, his callous words cutting deeper than the wind ever could. As much as she loathed to admit it, Snotlout was right. Hiccup did deserve better than her, she knew that, but he had chosen her regardless of that fact and they were promised. As long as the contract still stood, she had every right to be with him. But that was none of Snotlout's business. He probably did not even know of the contracts existence.

Still, his words rattled her.

She found herself turning and running from him, fleeing from words that hit too close to home. They coincided too closely with her own private fears. It was easy to forget those fears when she was with Hiccup, basking in the earnestness she saw in his eyes when he was with her. He did not care about her reputation or what the village would think about their union. All he cared about was her. She knew that that alone should be enough to quell any fears she had but— _no, she was not going there_. Snotlout's words had no merit and she would not allow them to send her down a spiral of what ifs.

Her feet moved on their own accord and Astrid soon found herself standing in front of the forge. The familiar sound of metal hitting metal rang in her ears. Someone was working and she hoped it was Hiccup. She peered in through the door, blue eyes searching for his lanky form. It did not take long. When her gaze settled upon him, she felt a blush rise on her cheeks. All she could see was the smooth ivory expanse of his back, interrupted only by smatterings of freckles on his shoulders. Despite the chill outside, the forge was warm, almost too warm, and he had shed his tunic and was only wearing the thick apron to protect his chest. Astrid bit her lip, shamelessly ogling the taunt muscles of his flexing shoulder blades as he pounded on a misshaped sword on the anvil.

Why had she come in here again?

The ships— _ship_. Right.

She stepped further into the forge and awkwardly cleared her throat to get his attention. The hammering stopped immediately and he looked up, a scowl forming on his features at being interrupted. However, that scowl quickly morphed into a warm smile when he saw just who it was that had interrupted him.

"Afternoon, milady!" He greeted cheerfully.

"Hey." She could still feel her cheeks burning.

Hiccup sat down his hammer and walked towards her, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh, you are going to love this, I—"

But before she got the chance to tell him, he wrapped her up in a warm embrace and held her so tightly to his chest that she felt she could not breathe. The anticipated words died on her lips as she wrapped her arms around him in return and took in his comforting scent—smoke, earth, and leather.

It felt good to just hug him.

He pulled away sooner than she would have liked and regarded her with a frown, "Astrid! What have you been doing? You're freezing!" He asked, running his hands ran up and down her arms to channel warmth to the still chilled skin.

"Flying." She replied, an earnest smile played on her lips, "We were heading north when Stormfly saw something on the horizon. The closer we got, the more it looked like a ship—one of Berk's ship." His eyes widened and Astrid continued, barely able to hold back the full force grin threatening to escape. "I found your father's ship, Hiccup. It should be here by sundown, weather permitting."

His fingers tightened against her forearm. "Is he…?"

"He's alive."

"That's what you've been doing all this time? Searching for my father's ship?" Hiccup suddenly asked, his eyes oddly shining.

She nodded, "Well yes. Stormfly is much faster than any search ship would be and I know how worried you were, even though you would never admit it. I just wanted to—" Astrid gasped when Hiccup all but lunged forward and pulled her to him once more, this time burrowing his face in the thick braid that rested over her shoulder. "—help."

When his frame began to gently shake, she did not say a word more. Her heart broke within her chest when she felt something wet soaking through her tunic. She let him have his moment and tenderly ran her fingertips down his bare back, cooing to him like she would an upset child. It felt like such a private moment, despite the fact that it was the middle of the day and the stall door was wide open to let some of the hot air escape. Anyone could walk in and see them, but she pushed the thought aside. Right now he needed her.

It was several moments before he pulled away, face now devoid of tears. As her eyes searched his, she never would have even known that he had been crying if not for the damp spot on her navy tunic and furs that told her otherwise. His expression now was firm and resolute, with only a tiny bit of reserved gratitude and disbelief showing through. She frowned at how much he looked like his father in that moment. It was almost as if he was ashamed for losing control of his emotions like that in front of her. She had hoped that after she comforted him when he opened up to Toothless that he would not feel the need to hide from her anymore. However, Hiccup had gone so much of his life trying so hard to hold back any sign of weakness that perhaps it was his natural reaction to do the same thing now, even with her.

But Hiccup did not need to constantly appear calm, confident, and strong in front of her. She accepted him just as he was, vulnerabilities and all. He needed to know that. Her fingers slowly rose to his face, touching just below his sharp cheekbone. "You do not have to hide part of yourself from me." She whispered gently. "Emotion may be a weakness in the eyes of the rest of Berk, but not to me. You never have to hide anything from me."

"I know that. Thank you, Astrid." Hiccup whispered.

Their eyes locked as his fingers reached for her braid and delved within the silky strands. He slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips tenderly to her forehead. It was a sweet, innocent gesture—it was still broad daylight after all—but it filled her with such a happy, bubbly warmth that her breath stalled in her chest. Hiccup eventually pulled away from her completely, but a tiny toothy grin remained on his lips. He turned back to his work, leaving her frozen in the middle of the forge as her thoughts raced. She had felt this strange warmth before, but nowhere near this intense.

What was it? What did it mean?

"You okay?" Hiccup suddenly asked, bringing her from her thoughts. He was back at the anvil and to her immense disappointment, he had slipped his tunic back on while she was distracted.

"I'm fine, just lost in thought." She assured him.

He nodded and returned back to his work. Not wanting to bother him, Astrid crossed the forge and entered Hiccup's small workroom. It was a bit of a mess with papers and various tools haphazardly scattered on the floor as if they had been shoved off the table in a frenzied manner. She blushed, remembering that was _exactly_ what had happened the night before. Hiccup must not have gotten around to cleaning them up.

She knelt down and began to neatly stack the papers in a pile. Curiosity got the better of her and she began to examine them as she stacked them. Most were diagrams of Toothless' prosthetic but the others surprised her. Hiccup had drawn the other training dragons, writing down his personal observations on each of the different species. On the Monstrous Nightmare's page, he had written down a detailed description of how the qualities of their saliva helped them ignite their entire bodies—which he knew from reading the Book of Dragons—but below that was a tiny, tiny sketch of a flaming sword. Intrigued by the idea, she sat that page off to the side so that she could ask Hiccup about it later and returned to tidying the rest of his cluttered workspace.

Just as she placed the last of his tools in what she hoped was their rightful place, a concussive sound reached her ears. Her hands immediately rose to block the sound until it stopped just as abruptly as it had started. Despite the painful ringing in her ears, Astrid could not stop the involuntary smile that formed upon her lips. She darted from the tiny room, only to crash into Hiccup's solid chest. As he grasped her hands with his to steady her, she noticed that he was grinning just as madly as she was. Their gazes locked.

That had not been just any horn—it was the celebratory horn of warriors returning from conquest.

 _The chief had come home_.

Hiccup maintained a fierce grip on one of Astrid's hands as he all but drug her out of the forge and down towards the docks. His excitement was contagious and soon it was difficult to tell just who was dragging who. Their hands remained joined as they were forced to weave around various citizens who had stopped to stare at the charred ship pulling into the harbor.

At one point the pair came close to taking out a bewildered Gustav Larson. It was only a well-timed duck on his part that saved him from taking an arm to the chest. Gustav could only gape at their strange behavior, just as many of the other villagers. It was certainly a strange sight Hiccup and Astrid act in such a manner, especially after so many years of avoiding each other.

The two Vikings eventually skidded to a synchronized stop once their boots hit the wooden planks of the dock. By now, the vessel had fully pulled into port and the returning warriors were disembarking. Astrid was thankful to see that although the boat had taken some bad hits, those returning appeared to be in good shape aside from being covered in dirt and grime from spending weeks on end at sea. However, she was even more thankful to see the hulking form of Stoick the Vast emerge from below deck of the ship.

"Dad!" Hiccup joyfully cried out.

Stoick's mustache twitched—hiding what Astrid could only assume was a smile beneath all that hair—at the sight of his only son sprinting up the gangplank to meet him. Astrid followed her betrothed onto the ship, albeit at a much slower pace. When she reached the two Haddock men, Stoick was pulling Hiccup into a bone crushing hug. Despite the fact that she could hear Hiccup's back popping in protest, the smaller Viking maintained the giddy grin on his face. She too could not help but smile softly at the heartwarming scene unfolding before her. It was one of the few times that she had ever seen Hiccup and his father embrace in public.

But just as quickly as the moment began, it passed. Father and son awkwardly separated and tried desperately to regain their stoic composure. Astrid sniggered behind her hand and Hiccup shot her a warning look. It was at that moment that Stoick finally took notice to the fact that _Astrid Hofferson_ of all people was standing next to his son.

"Ah, Dad it's so good to have you back!" Hiccup began, oblivious to his father's shock at seeing Astrid. "We weren't expecting you to be gone so long but don't worry, everything is under control. The village is still relatively in one piece." He joked.

"It's been a rough month, but tonight we feast to our safe return!" Stoick barked out and clapped Hiccup on the shoulder. He seemed to ignore Astrid's presence entirely after his initial shock of seeing her. "Walk with me to the Great Hall, son. It appears ye have a lot to tell me."

Hiccup immediately launched into a briefing on everything that had happened in the village during his father's absence. It was clear that they would be caught up in official business for quite some time. As such, Astrid was reluctant to follow. Not only had Stoick basically given her a silent dismissal, but it was technically not her place to be in the know of such private matters. In the end, she followed them off the boat and then hung back, allowing them to go on ahead of her.

Sensing that she was no longer at his side, Hiccup glanced back and tellingly held her gaze for a few short moments. He wanted her to stay with him but just like Astrid, he knew that it was not her place. His father then said something that forced his attention and they broke eye contact. Astrid remained behind and watched thoughtfully as her betrothed's form was quickly lost to the growing crowd of Vikings rushing to welcome home their loved ones.

—

"This is— _hic_ —stupid."

Preparations for the war party's celebratory feast had begun soon after Stoick and Hiccup left the docks. Word had spread quickly and pretty soon, the entire village was headed for the Great Hall. Although the warriors had not made actual headway in finding the nest, everyone was still in high spirits over their safe return. Sure, they had lost a few ships but miraculously, no lives had been lost. Apparently that was enough cause to indulge in a feast that was way beyond their current means. Tales were to be told, music was to be played, mead and ale were to be drunk, and fights were to be had.

Astrid found herself in the company of Ruffnut and Fishlegs that night. Tuffnut and Snotlout had long since left them, choosing to instead seek out more lively company. Hiccup was at the feast as well, but he was stuck up at the head table. Astrid and her two companions were probably the only ones in the room who were less than thrilled to be there. They were all in agreement. The music was far too loud, precious food was going to waste, and most of the village was already beyond belligerent. Normally Astrid could appreciate a feast just as much as the next Viking, but there more important things that she could be doing at that moment instead of drinking the night away. She was irritated. They were losing precious time. As the hardiest of villagers attending the feast were sure to be up until dawn, she and Hiccup would not be able to work with Toothless that night. It was too risky.

"I mean, it's not like we won't have another feast in two days anyway. _Everyone_ knows that Hiccup is going to win." The female twin continued her tirade with a roll of her eyes. "'specially now that his father has returned. Can't disappoint dear ol' dad. Hiccup's too spec- _hic_ -ial!"

Astrid did not appreciate nor did she understand Ruffnut's scorn against Hiccup, so she really hoped that it was just the mead talking. Instead of arguing, she wisely kept her mouth shut and downed the rest of her tankard. She had lost count of how many she had drank so far, but she was feeling pretty good. Giddy even. But at least she was still coherent enough to speak without slurring or hiccupping. That was more than Ruffnut could say.

"I would've thought that Hiccup would've told his Dad about the possibility of rationing in the next few months." Fishlegs rambled, attempting to change the subject. "We're really going to be cutting into our food supply with these two feasts."

"I'm sure he did tell him, but maybe the chief didn't listen. They were drifting out at sea for nearly a month, who wouldn't want to feast and drink after that?" Astrid replied, even though she wholeheartedly agreed with the larger boy. The feast they were holding was nothing if not excessive and that was the last thing they needed with the way the harvest seemed to be going.

"He doesn't really seem to be enjoying himself."

"Hmm?"

Fishlegs pointed up to the head table where Hiccup was absentmindedly twirling his drink in his hand, clearly tuning out the discussion that his father and the elders were having. Astrid thought he looked miserable. She could not blame him, she was sure that talk of tribal business could get very boring. Surely he would have rather been spending the evening with his friends than with a bunch of old men.

As if he could sense her eyes on him, Hiccup looked up from his tankard at that very moment and met her gaze. She squirmed in her seat, suddenly feeling much too hot. It was far too warm, just like the forge that afternoon. The memory of Hiccup's shirtless torso flashed before her eyes. _What was wrong with her?!_ She forced the intimate image from her mind and dropped her gaze back to her cup as a blush bloomed on her cheeks.

"How cute! Astrid's got a case of the _Hiccups_!" Ruffnut sing-songed from across the table. Fishlegs pointedly jabbed her in the side but in her inebriation, she did not get the hint. Instead of letting the comment get to her, Astrid smirked. The Thorsten girl was stunned by the lack of reaction that she received from her friend. "Whoa? No punch? No eye roll? No threatening to cut me with your precious axe? Fish, I think Astrid's— _hic_ —broken!" She cried manically, grasping onto Fishlegs' bicep and shaking him.

"I think Astrid's just drunk. She's still going to threaten you, but there is an eighty-seven percent chance that it won't be until tomorrow." Fishlegs replied while attempting to free his arm from Ruffnut's frantic grasp.

"I'm not drunk!" Astrid spat, slamming her mug down to accentuate her point.

Fishlegs quickly backpedaled. "No, no of c-course not. I was joking."

"I need some air." She abruptly announced, staggering up from the table and rushing outside before either of her friends could stop her.

Compared to the stifling heat of the Great Hall, standing outside was refreshing. Luckily the storm that had been brewing all afternoon had missed them, passing just to the east of the island before the feast began. The clouds had cleared and it was now quite cold. But Astrid did not mind it for once. The chill that hung in the air instantly began to clear the haze that had settled onto her mind while she drank. With it gone, she could finally think and more important, _hear_ herself think.

The streets were mostly empty, save a few drunken villagers who were stumbling back to their homes. Astrid wrapped her arms around herself and began to walk to her own home. She had had enough festivities for one night. Morning was going to come all too soon and the last thing she needed to be doing was fighting off a hangover while scrambling to help Hiccup finish Toothless' prosthetic in time for the championship.

As she made her way through the streets, a couple of villagers called out their greetings to her. She was so shocked by the gesture that she could not form a reply. Luckily, the Vikings were much too intoxicated to even notice her snub. The encounter was strange. Just four weeks ago, that kind of thing would have never happened. Everyone ignored her. Occasionally people would greet her mother, but never her. No one ever even noticed Astrid. If by some miracle they did, the attention was not exactly positive. But ever since the last raid and news had spread of her spar with Ruffnut, the villagers looked at her differently. They looked at her as though they thought she might actually have potential. They were beginning to look at her as though she was more than just a small girl.

Astrid scowled, torn between relishing in the new attention and also hating it. The village was beginning to respect her for all the wrong reasons. She was fooling them all. She might become a warrior one day with more practice but she was not a dragon killer—she never had been and she never would be. Sooner or later, her secret was going to be exposed and the backlash would be worse than any scorn they had given her before. Out of nowhere, the thought struck her that perhaps it would be better to _just_ _leave_. It would be so easy to disappear from Berk in the middle of the night with Stormfly. Few would truly miss her. Hiccup could finish Toothless' prosthetic on his own. He did not need her. Not really. He was far more capable than she was.

But those were just half-drunken rambling thoughts. Berk was her home. She could never just up and leave her mother and she could not leave Hiccup either. Now that she had him, she had even more of a reason to stay.

Astrid was so lost in her ponderings that when a hand shot out of the darkness and grasped onto her arm, she opened her mouth to cry out in alarm. As if sensing this, another hand hastily covered her mouth to muffle the sound. Astrid struggled, almost going as far to bite down on the hand until her attacker began to murmur softly in her ear. She relaxed hearing the familiar voice, knowing it was not an attacker at all. She should have known that he would find her eventually.

"Hiccup, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that." She chastised when he dropped the hand that covered her mouth.

He pouted apologetically and Astrid narrowed her eyes, attempting to examine him. Something was off. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were slightly unfocused. Both were tale tell signs that he too had probably been drinking heavily that night.

"You're drunk!" She exclaimed.

"No, no, no! Not drunk at all!" He slurred back. It was an attempt at a whisper, but not a very good one because she heard him loud and clear. "I am perfectly sss-sober."

She rolled her eyes. "Liar. How many tankards did you drink tonight?" He ignored the question and grabbed both of her hands in his, attempting to usher her forward. "What? Where are we going?"

"To the arena!" He cried dramatically.

 _Not good! Not good!_

"No Hiccup, we can't!"

She quickly dug her heels into the soft ground, preventing Hiccup from pulling her any further. He stumbled at the unexpected resistance and turned to look back at her with pleading eyes. He wanted to go. He wanted to go _so_ _desperately_. It appeared as though the mead had only deepened his desire to finish Toothless' prosthetic. She understood, she truly did, but it was not worth the risk. There were too many people stumbling about and they were drunk on top of that. Who knows how the villagers would react if they saw that Toothless was out of his cage.

Actually, she knew the answer to that question already: kill first and ask questions later. Hiccup surely knew that as well, but the alcohol was clouding his judgement. She would have to be the stronger of the two and put her foot down before someone—human or dragon—got hurt.

"Babe, your brain is under siege. You are not thinking clearly." Astrid teased, the term of endearment slipping out just as naturally as when he called her ' _milady_.' She pulled her hands from his grasp and affectionately rubbed his arm, her expression turning serious. "We can't go to the arena. I know you want to help Toothless, I do too, but it is much too dangerous tonight. Someone might see us."

He muttered some unintelligible under his breath but given that he did not try to drag her away again, she figured that he understood.

Although she had been on her way home to get some much needed rest, she could not resist leaving Hiccup now that she had him to herself—even if he was slightly intoxicated. Wanting to steal a few moments with him, she silently began to lead him towards the darkened forge just down the street. It was cold when they entered, the hearth having been put out for several hours at this point. But Astrid did not have to worry about the cold for long. As soon as the door swung shut behind them, the shivering blonde found herself wrapped up in a sweltering embrace. She could taste the sweet mead on his lips. They clumsily stumbled further into the forge without breaking their kiss until Astrid found herself pressed against the back of a work table.

As their tongues began to tangle, she felt heat pool into her lower abdomen that only increased the closer she clung to him. Her arms roped around his neck, fingers twisting into his thick hair. He responded in kind. One hand remained steady against the table behind them while the other made a curious excursion up her hip, slowly snaking up under her tunic to graze the smooth skin of her stomach. She shuddered at the sensation of his cool fingers against her bare skin and found herself aching for his hand to continue its journey upwards. Her mind whirled, imagining his digits sliding beneath the fabric of her bindings and touching the curve of her breast. It was an illicit thought, something that she knew was only meant to happen between a husband and his wife, but she found herself wanting to throw tradition out the window.

They were promised, was that not enough?

Fortunately, Hiccup's hand remained in a _mildly_ innocent position. His fingers danced ever so slightly against her hipbone but did not raise any higher. She sighed heavily into his mouth at the teasing contact. He responded in kind, sucking her bottom lip between his own and holding firm. They became lost in themselves for some time. It could have been minutes, maybe an hour before they finally pulled away from each other. His forehead rested against hers as they fought to control their breathing. By the dim moonlight peaking in through one of the windows of the forge, Astrid traced Hiccup's flushed cheeks and bruised lips with amorous eyes. She did not want to leave, but it was late and surely someone had noticed Hiccup was missing from the feast by now.

"You should go back, your father is probably looking for you."

"I doubt it. Dad, Gobber, and Spitelout were about to hold a drinking contest when I slipped out."

"Does he know about us?" Astrid asked suddenly, the thought popping into her brain from seemingly nowhere.

Hiccup shook his head lightly. "I-I haven't told him yet. I think he suspects something is going on between us but I wanted to wait until after the championship to confirm it—you know, just in case something goes wrong…" He whispered, his gaze fixated on the bridge of her nose instead of her eyes.

"Promise me it won't go wrong." He tried to take a step back but she dug her fingers into his leathers, rooting him to the spot. "Promise me!" She repeated with a hiss.

When his eyes finally met hers, they were blazing with anger that she would ask such a thing. "You know I can't do that, Astrid."

She huffed and pushed away from him, crossing her arms protectively over her midsection in attempt to ward off the bitter feeling bubbling in her stomach at his words. "What exactly is your plan anyways? The championship is two days away. If you are going to set Toothless free, you have to do it soon, before it's too late." It was not something that they had discussed in grand detail. Astrid trusted that Hiccup was smart enough to not do anything that would get them all killed.

 _She was wrong_.

"See that's the thing. I'm uh, not going to set him free." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck warily, awaiting her reaction.

"What?! What are you playing at Hiccup Horrendous?!" She exploded and socked him in the shoulder with surprising force.

He rubbed his shoulder with an open mouth.

Her accuracy was improving as of late, as was the strength behind said punches.

"Hey-hey-hey, there is no need for violence! Give me a moment to explain, will you?" He cried, still rubbing his shoulder. Her fist rose again to strike him but this time he was expecting the onslaught of punches and blocked it. He caught her wrists tightly in his hands and held firm. As she struggled against his hold, he hurried to explain his words. "Astrid, you showed me that dragons are not what we think that they are! You showed me that they have minds, they have personalities, and they have feelings. You changed my mind, now I have the try and change theirs. I can't take all of Berk on a romantic flight," He spat sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "But I can show them that it is possible to train a dragon."

Astrid stopped struggling at his explanation but the hard look in her eyes did not leave. Hiccup released her clenched fists and they fell to her hips. _Of all the stupid, irresponsible_ — "That is the most idiotic plan I have ever heard!" She raged, unable to keep her thoughts on his plan to herself. "Toothless is a dragon, not some animal trained to parade around the arena in front of spectators! It is too risky. You will be jeopardizing his life and yours if you go through with this."

"The village needs to see this or the war between humans and dragons is never going to be put to rest!" He argued.

"What are you going to do if they refuse to listen? Not all minds can be changed, Hiccup! Your father is ten times more boar-headed than you!" Her voice heightened in pitch, revealing the desperation that she felt. She did not like this plan. She did not like it one bit! He was not thinking clearly. _He was obviously still feeling the mead_. It would not work. The village would not listen! "If you fail, you will be arrested for treason and Toothless will die!"

"I do not care what happens to me, but I owe it to him. I gave him my word. I am a man of _drengskapr_." Hiccup admitted fiercely, sounding very much sober now and that terrified Astrid to the core. He was serious. "If anything goes wrong, if the village refuses to listen, I will buy you time and you will have to set him free. Hide near the gate and if it looks as though the plan is not working, find a way to open it so he can escape."

Her hands rose to cover her unhinged mouth as she staggered back from him in complete horror. "I never should have told you. I never should have—your twisted sense of so called _drengskapr_ is going to get us all killed!" She screeched.

"I have to try!" He shouted back. Hiccup reached for her but she swatted his hands away. "I have to try. You have to trust me, Astrid."

She shook her head wildly, unable to consent to such a risky plan.

"Not too long ago you asked me to trust you in what I thought was a ridiculous and impossible situation, I am now asking you to return the favor."

"That was different! I—"

"How was is it any different?! You endangered your life and Stormfly's to show me that dragons can be trusted! I could have immediately gone back to inform the village of your betrayal. They would have captured and killed the _both_ of you had I done that. But you asked me to trust you, to listen to you, and I did. You changed my mind," He suddenly paused, his breathing harsh. "Now please, help me change theirs. I cannot do this without you, Astrid. I need you to trust me." His voice was now pleading with her, softening unintentionally towards the end.

Her heart and her mind were torn.

Logic told her it was futile. Reason told her it was impossible. Yet, her heart understood where he was coming from. The prospect of freeing to village from the war against dragons was bigger than the both of them and Hiccup was boar-headed enough to try. He was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice. He was willing sacrifice himself to save his village, his people. And if that did not work, he was still going to sacrifice himself in hope that Toothless would make it out alive. Was she willing to make the same sacrifice? Was she willing to gamble her life on a plan that only had a marginal chance of success? She searched his face, latching on to the hope and fear she saw raging behind his bright green eyes. He could not do this alone. He needed her.

And with that, she gave her consent, ignoring the bitter feeling in the pit of her stomach saying that something was going to go terribly, horribly wrong.

—

 **[1]** _ **Óðinsdagr**_ **is the Old Norse equivalent for Wednesday (also called Odin's Day) and** _ **þórsdagr**_ **is the equivalent of Thursday (also called Thor's Day). In chapter eleven, Gobber told the teens that the championship was a week away, meaning the following** _ **Laugardagr**_ **(Saturday).**

—

 **Firstly, I want to apologize for not responding to all of last chapter's reviews. My plan was to do that today before posting to the new chapter but I got called into work on my day off to deal with a supplier issue. Being manager of a custom business sometimes has its downfalls. :/ I will still be responding to them and the new reviews for this chapter but it might take me a few days to get through them all.**

 **Also, I just want to point out that I do not hate Snotlout. Yes, I believe he can be immature, tactless, childish, and downright snotty (** _ **heh**_ **) at times but I am not trying to make him the bad guy in this story, although it may seem like it right now. We know what issues Astrid has with Snotlout because she tells us in her narrative but we** _ **do not know**_ **the reasons behind Snotlout's actions. So although it may seem that he is just being callous, Snot has his reasons for why he treats Astrid the way that he does—reasons that will be explained later on in the story. I just wanted to clear that up before I start getting hate-mail for character bashing.**

 **Things are moving rather quickly now. Next chapter — the championship. Hiccup's plan is finally revealed! How do you think** _ **that**_ **is going to play out? I am anxious to hear your thoughts. I'm sure you can all see where this is going but then again, the events may still surprise you. Hiccup and Astrid never found the dragon's nest, so how is that going to change things? Be prepared guys. The next chapter is not only long, but also a bit of a whirlwind. You might need tissues.** _ **Maybe**_ **. But that's all I am going to say on that subject for now.**

 **Until next time,**

 **\- Mari.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly ( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

She felt numb.

The air was frigid on that particular morning but it was not the coolness that numbed her. For once, she was oblivious to the chill in the air. In just a few moments, the semifinals of dragon training would commence. It was now _frjádagr_ and instead of completing her morning chores, Astrid found herself seated with her mother in the stands surrounding the Kill Ring. **[1]** The two Hofferson women were not alone. In fact, most of Berk was present. Even the Chief was there, sitting front and center in the stands. Astrid frowned and tapped her fingers agitatedly against her thigh. Her eyes zeroed in on the five figures lined up in the center of the arena but quickly focused on one in particular. He held a large broadsword in his left hand and a metal shield was positioned on his right arm. Hiccup's back was alarmingly straight, his features smoothed into a calm façade, but Astrid could see through it. Even from up above in the stands, she could just barely make out his shaking hands. The fact that Hiccup was nervous made _her_ nervous. Her stomach rolled and she fought back the urge to gag. This was it. Hiccup was going to win the semifinals and secure his right to slay the Night Fury.

Herleva noticed her daughter's pointed gaze and hummed softly, mistaking Astrid's nerves for something else entirely. "I'm sorry that I took away yer chance for this great honor. But what I did, I did with yer best intentions in mind." She said in attempt to console Astrid. "You will get yer chance for glory. It just isn't the right time."

Astrid breathed in heavily from her nose and then exhaled, "I know, mother."

Her mother patted her hand reassuringly but Astrid did not dare tear her desperate gaze away from her lover below.

A series of wooden blockades had been set up around the arena. Gobber blew his whistle and the gate to the Gronckle's cage flew open. Immediately, the recruits were forced to dive behind barriers to protect themselves from an onslaught of lava blasts. Astrid watched the match very closely. This was the first time she had seen the teens in action since she had been pulled from her training. Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut immediately went on offense while Fishlegs and Hiccup chose to fight defensively. One by one, the teens were taken out. First Fishlegs, then Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and finally, Snotlout. Astrid thought they would call the match when Snotlout was finally drug from the arena, having been knocked out cold by the boulder class dragon's bludgeon-like tail, but she was wrong.

Throughout the match, it had not escaped her notice that Hiccup and Gronckle had been purposely avoiding each other in some sort of mutual ceasefire truce. However with the other teens all disqualified, Hiccup was forced to face the Gronckle head on. And in true Hiccup fashion, he did so in the way that none, save Astrid, would have expected. Even so, her jaw still dropped when the purple and tan Gronckle abruptly dropped onto its side, its tongue lolling out of its mouth and one rear leg twitching in the air, after a well-placed scratch to its chin.

The crowd was stunned to silence.

No one uttered a sound as Gobber led the mellowed Gronckle back to its cell with a bewildered look upon his face. Astrid could only assume that Hiccup had never used her scratching trick before. But to use such unconventional methods in front of his father? _What was he thinking?_ It was not until Stoick jumped to his feet and started cheering for his son's win that she finally let out the deep breath that she had not even realized she had been holding. The crowd slowly joined in with their chief as Hiccup turned to sheepishly wave up at the crowd.

"Quite down! The Elder has made her decision!" Stoick eventually bellowed, his voice cutting through the cheers as he helped Gothi down the stands and to the edge of the arena.

Hiccup visibly straightened at the sight of the Elder and lifted his chin to meet her gaze. She eyed him suspiciously for a few tense moment before nodding her consent. At her nod, the crowds' cheering renewed with vigor.

Stoick was beaming with pride, "He's done it! That's my boy! My son is going ta' kill the Night Fury!"

Gobber abruptly appeared behind Hiccup, swatting him with a meaty hand on the back. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout raced back into the arena and in the blink of an eye, Snotlout had Hiccup up on his shoulders and began parading him around the arena. Even Herleva jumped to her feet and joined in the crowd's cheering, laughing at seeing the stocky boy awkwardly carrying his much taller cousin around. No one noticed that Hiccup had turned deathly pale and he was no longer smiling. No one bothered to look that closely, except for Astrid. She was perhaps the only one not celebrating Hiccup's win. She was too focused trying to swallow the bile rising in her throat again to even fake happiness.

The Elder had decided.

Hiccup was going to kill the Night Fury.

She abruptly jumped to her feet and raced down the stands, not caring as she scrambled over and bumped into several villagers. She did not care that they shot her dirty looks or yelled threats after her. All that she cared about was getting as far away from the Kill Ring as possible. She ran down into the village, to her house where she retrieved the axe that Hiccup had made for her, and then set off into the forest at a dead sprint. Her legs pumped and the balls of her feet dug painfully into the frozen ground with every stride she took.

When she reached a relatively clear spot that was far enough from the village for no one to hear her, she released a bloodcurdling scream and hurled her axe at the nearest tree trunk with all of her might. The axe whirled through the air before striking the center of the trunk with a thunderous _thwack_. The wood immediately splintered on contact and shards of broken bark exploded around it. The rough handling of her axe tore her nearly healed blisters open again but Astrid hardly felt the pain. She retrieved her axe despite her bleeding palms and began to throw again and again and again. Every time she threw, she let out another strangled yell until her throat was raw and aching. She released all of her anger, her fear, and her disgust into her throws. She feared for Hiccup. She feared for Toothless. She feared for herself. Tomorrow, everything was going to change. She had known for weeks that this day was coming, but it did not make reality any easier.

It was not fair.

It was never supposed to end up this way.

She raised her arm to throw her axe again but froze when a knife suddenly whizzed by her cheek and imbedded itself in the very spot she had been aiming for. Astrid whirled around, now raising her axe threateningly towards her attacker, but her anger fizzled when she saw his wild auburn hair and wet green eyes. He was just as torn as she was.

"Mind if I join you?" He croaked.

Astrid shrugged and angrily wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She hated that he brought so many emotions out of her that she had tried to keep buried for so long. She was never a crier but she had cried more in the past few weeks than she had in her entire life and _he_ was at the center of it all. Luckily, Hiccup seemingly chose to ignore her display of emotion and threw another concealed throwing knife at the destroyed tree trunk. No sooner had it hit the tree with a light _thunk_ did he pull another knife from out his leathers and threw it with a frustrated grunt.

"Exactly how many knives do you have hidden in there?" She asked sourly.

Hiccup smirked and when he answered, his words were dripping with mocking sarcasm. "Why don't you come over here and find out?"

Her eyes instantly narrowed, almost appalled for how bold and out of character the jab was. This was not Hiccup. Her sweet Hiccup would never say something to her in such a disrespectful tone. Even when she swore that they hated each other, he still treated her with cold, detached respect. He was terrified, stressed, and truly at his breaking point, but that did not give him the right to speak to her in such a manner. Especially when all she ever tried to do was help him.

As soon as he saw her slighted face, his shoulders slumped and he mumbled out, "I'm sorry Astrid. That was very rude of me. I just—well, it finally just hit me that tomorrow, everything is going to change."

Despite his apology, her anger returned full force. Thoughts of their argument from the previous night and haunting visions of what might come to pass in the morning danced before her eyes. "You just don't get it do you?!" She exploded. "This is not going to work. Your ingenious plan is ludicrous. We are going to fail!"

He blanched at her sudden outburst. "But last night you agreed—"

"I agreed to trust in you. And I do. I would follow your thick-headed skull off of a cliff even if it meant certain death if you asked me to! But Hiccup, I do not like this. I do not like this one bit. You are setting us all up to die. The village is not going to listen. Your father will never listen."

"I have to try, Astrid." He responded weakly, his bottom lip trembling.

"I think you are making a huge mistake." She hissed, wagging her finger accusingly at him like a mother would do to a misbehaving child. "But I will not let you do this alone. You are stuck with me, until the very end." She did not need to say more. He quickly enveloped her into his arms in an attempt to sway her doubts. Her own arms wound around him in return and brought his lithe form firmly to her. She sank into his chest, relishing in the way he seemed to fit perfectly around her and sighed contently when she felt his lips touch her hair.

But even his gentle touch could not fully ease the anxiety blazing deep within her heart. For her greatest fear was that this would be one of the last chances he would have to hold her like this.

* * *

The rest of _frjádagr_ passed in a blink of an eye.

After returning from the forest—dirty, sore, and possibly a bit flushed—Astrid rinsed all the dirt and grime away in the wash tub. Luckily, her mother was out resuming her normal duties and was not around to question how she had gotten so dirty, how she had gotten twigs and grass in her hair, or why her lips were suspiciously bruised. After her quick washing, Astrid caught up on the chores she had missed out on that morning. She tidied the house, tended to the garden, hung a few linens out on the line to freshen them, made a new loaf of bread for _dagmál_ in the morning, and several other tedious jobs that she absolutely loathed. She could only hope that when they eventually married, Hiccup would not hate her for being such a horrid housewife.

When most of her chores were completed, Astrid left her house for the third time that day and journeyed back into the forest—though this time with a calmer mind. Stormfly greeted her when she entered the grove and in no time at all, the Nadder was preening and peeking at her pauldrons anxiously. The dragon somehow knew that something was amiss. Instead of training with her axe, Astrid sat down with her dragon and all but buried herself into Stormfly's flashy blue scales. The Nadder cooed and nudged at her human until finally the blonde opened up and told Stormfly everything. Unsurprisingly, Stormfly listened with wide, patient golden eyes and did her best to offer Astrid the comfort that she so desperately needed.

It felt good, she realized, to release all of her pent up fears and worries in a way that was not violence. Talking about her feelings actually felt good.

After a while, Astrid eventually stopped speaking, having ran out of things to say. Stormfly continued to coo draconic noises of comfort and after a while, she almost relaxed— _almost_. Abruptly, an all-new fear struck her. If things went horribly wrong tomorrow, there was a high chance she would never see Stormfly again. The alarming thought caused Astrid to frantically clutch onto her dragon. Not knowing what else to do to calm her, Stormfly enveloped her human up within her speckled wings and held her as close as she possibly could.

The dragon and human duo remained curled up around each other on the forest floor until the sun began to disappear from the sky. Astrid peered up from Stormfly's wings and watched the darkening sky with dread. She knew she needed to return to the village. Thus, she crawled out from beneath the safety of Stormfly's wings and squared her shoulders, refusing to let her emotions get the best of her. Stormfly blinked several times and squawked, confused by the sudden departure of her human. Astrid however held back her tears and stroked Stormfly's scales momentarily before murmuring her goodbyes. Stormfly chirped and tried to nuzzle her in response, but Astrid took a sudden step back and fled from the grove.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

With Stormfly's superior hearing, Astrid knew that the dragon heard.

Declining her dragon's comfort and walking away was perhaps one of the hardest things that Astrid had ever had to do, but she knew that if she did not leave then, she never would. How she wished that things were different. If only Stormfly and the dragons could be accepted by the village. Against her will, Astrid imagined a Berk where dragons roamed free and lived in peace with the Viking villagers. But alas, unless Hiccup's plan worked, that would never come to pass.

Her journey back to village was a slow one. She was too consumed by her thoughts and worries to hurry back. When Astrid eventually emerged from the tree line and began to make her way back down into the village, the moon was already high in the sky and night had fallen. She had missed náttmál entirely at this point but she could not bring herself to care.

"There you are!" A familiar voice cried out indignantly. "What are you doing sneaking around so late?"

Astrid jumped at Snotlout's sudden voice and cursed herself for being so stupid. She did not have an excuse as to what she was doing coming out of the forest so late at night. She could not even use training as an excuse because she did not even have a weapon on her. Would he believe her if she said she was doing endurance training? _Probably not_. As she wracked her brain for a better explanation, his footsteps came closer and closer. In the low light of the moon, she could just barely make out his bulky form rounding the nearest house.

Her heart gave a second start when she heard another unexpected voice answer him. "Do I have to have your permission to go out on an evening stroll?" Hiccup answered tiredly. He sounded even more stressed than he had when she last saw him that morning.

Snotlout tsk'ed like a disapproving matron. "You should be resting for the fight tomorrow, not taking a stroll."

"I don't need you to mother me, Snot. I can take care of myself."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Snotlout had not been calling out to her after all. He had been after Hiccup. Realizing that neither boy had spotted her yet nor wanting to push her luck, Astrid quickly ducked behind the nearest shed and watched the tense scene unfolding before her. Hiccup was decked out in all of his armor and in his hands, he held the latest version of Toothless' prosthetic tail. It was too early to go to the arena, so Astrid could only assume he had been on his way to the forge to make some last minutes adjustments when his cousin spotted him. With any luck, Snotlout would not question the contraption, or at least not be smart enough to piece together what it actually was. Then, as soon as he was gone, Astrid would follow Hiccup to the forge. Fortunately, it seemed as though Snotlout was not going to focus in on something else nor was he about to let Hiccup go so easily.

"You weren't out with her, were you?"

 _What?_ From her hiding spot, Astrid could see the confusion marring Hiccup's face as well. He had no idea who Snotlout was talking about either. "You are going to have to elaborate. Out with who exactly?" He muttered irritably.

"Don't play dumb with me, Hiccup. You may have fooled everyone else in the village that you don't care for her, but not me." Snotlout drawled angrily. "Don't think that I haven't noticed that you two have been strangely chummy lately, always sneaking off together. You both were conveniently absent from náttmál this evening." He poked his cousin accusingly in the chest.

Astrid was still lost as to who this mysterious woman was but judging by the angry flush on Hiccup's face as he swatted Snotlout's hand away, he had caught on. "If you're talking about Astrid, then no I was not with her." _Oh_. It finally dawned on Astrid that Snotlout had been referring to _her_. Hiccup was actually telling the truth but there is no way that Snotlout would know that. "But even if I had been, why does it matter?" Her lover smarted.

"I don't understand why you waste your time on her! Have you forgotten everything? Can you not see how fishy this whole turnaround is? I don't trust her and neither should you." Snotlout clenched his fists at his sides and snarled. "Especially after what she did!"

Apparently Hiccup did not find his cousin's vile words worthy of a retort because instead of replying, he turned away and began to stalk back up towards the chief's hall, the trip to the forge seemingly forgotten. Snotlout did not let him go so easily and hurried after him, hurling insults about her the entire way. From her hidden position, Astrid listened with an aching heart until their forms blended into the darkness and Snotlout's hushed but harsh tone lost itself to the bitter wind. When she was sure that they were gone, she abandoned her hiding spot and hurried home. She found it unlikely that Hiccup would be at the forge anytime soon anyhow.

Not a single flicker of candlelight shone in her hall, so she assumed she was safe. As quietly as possible, Astrid creaked open the front door and began to tiptoe into the Hofferson hall's meager living space. The heath was burnt down to the smallest of embers, signaling that her mother had likely gone to bed within the hour. It was not unusual for her mother to turn in so early. Still, not wanting to jinx herself, the blonde held her breath as she quietly snuck towards to her room, making sure to avoid certain squeaky floorboards as she went.

"And just where do ye think yer going?"

She was almost to her room when she caught a shuffle of movement out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly, the whole room filled with soft candlelight. Astrid released a near silent groan, realizing that this time she actually was caught, and turned to find her mother standing in her bedroom doorway in her nightdress. In one hand she held a stubby white candle, while her other hand was planted firmly on her hip. The Hofferson matron fixed her daughter with a glare when Astrid did not answer her question right away.

"Well, out with it! Ye've been gone for hours! Ye missed náttmál again and I know ye weren't out training. I found yer axe sitting on the table when I came home." Herleva gestured to the table where sure enough, Astrid's axe was propped up against one of the chairs.

"You're right, I wasn't out training. After I finished all my chores I went for a walk to clear my head and I lost track of time I guess…" She trailed off awkwardly, using the same excuse that she had used when Hiccup had first caught her sneaking around at night. Hopefully her mother would not see through the lie as easily as Hiccup had.

Herleva's lips pursed in disapproval but she eventually nodded her head curtly, a sign that she accepted Astrid's story as the truth. "Yer almost a grown woman now, Astrid. Ye cannot go wandering off for hours whenever ye feel like it. Ye need to be more responsible."

"Yes mother." She replied quietly, her eyes stubbornly glued to the floorboards.

Silence fell between the two women. Astrid assumed that she was dismissed, but just as she made to enter her room, her mother's voice stopped her. "Get some sleep child, we need to be down at the Kill Ring by dawn. You will be attending, won't you?"

"Yes mother." Astrid repeated, thankful that she was turned so that her mother could not see her quivering lips.

Not waiting around to hear if her mother had more to say, she quickly entered her room and shut the door softly behind her. Once inside, she collapsed back against the door for a few short moments, desperately sucking in large gulps of air to calm herself. She eventually tore off her armor, crawled into bed, and pulled her blankets tightly around her to ward off the chill blooming in her chest. It would do her good to at least try and get some sleep. She knew that she could not risk sneaking out again that night. Hiccup would just have to work with Toothless without her.

Little did she know that in the morning her life would change irrevocably.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

As Astrid stood under the main gate the next morning with Hiccup by her side, she could not help but ask the doubting question. He was about to change history and by doing that, also commit treason. He was going to show the tribe that dragons were not the bloodthirsty beasts that they thought they were—or at least he was going to try to. She still did not see how his plan was actually going to work, but she had no choice but to go along with it. She could not let Hiccup do this alone. Still, she could not shake the worry in her gut that the plan was going to go horribly awry. Horrid images flashed before her eyes. They could very well both be branded traitors by _dagmál_.

Her blue eyes traced her betrothed's form worriedly. He looked exhausted. In the early morning light, the shadows beneath his eyes stood out harshly against his pallid face. Had he gotten any sleep the night before? She knew that she had barely gotten any herself. Most of her night was spent tossing, turning, and warding off bad dreams. Morning had come all too quickly and by the time her mother was shaking her awake, Astrid felt no more rested than she had when she fell into bed the night before.

"It's a little late to be turning back now." Hiccup chuckled humorlessly, breaking her from her inner thoughts. For all of his exhaustion, his expression was undoubtedly resolute. There was no talking him out of this. "I have to try."

Still, despite his stubbornness, she could not help trying one last time to dissuade him. She opened her mouth to protest that surely there had to be another way when Gobber suddenly appeared, affectively cutting off whatever futile argument she was about to make.

Gobber was all smiles. "It's time, Hiccup! Knock 'em dead!" He cheered, clubbing his apprentice good-naturedly on the shoulder with his prosthetic hand.

Hiccup winced and rubbed his shoulder for a moment before he begrudgingly pulled his sword from its sheath, he had to keep up appearances after all. He made to walk out into the arena but Astrid abruptly tugged him back to her and pressed her lips to his one last time—just in case she did not get the chance to do so later. She cared little at that point if anyone saw them. Everything was about to go to Hel anyways. What would one last little act of rebellion cost them? It was a chaste kiss, perhaps the most innocent that they had shared thus far, but the message within it was clear. It told him all the things that she could not bring herself to say aloud.

 _I trust you. Everything will be okay. Be safe._ _I love you._

"Be careful with that dragon." She murmured when their lips finally separated with a sweet little _pop_.

"It's not Toothless that I'm worried about." Hiccup cast a meaningful look towards his father, who stood at his podium addressing the crowd of Vikings that had shown up to watch the match. In other words, the entire village was present. From below Hiccup and Astrid could only make out bits and pieces of the Chief's speech but they were able to get the gist—his son was about to go down in history for being the first Viking to kill a Night Fury and Stoick could not be prouder.

Unfortunately, the Chief did not know just how wrong he was.

Hiccup was about to go down in history alright, but it would not be for killing a Night Fury.

As if coming to the same conclusion, the two young Vikings shared a pained glance. This was it. There was no turning back from this now. It was time to put their plan into motion. Hiccup would enter the arena and when they released the Night Fury, he would show the village that they did not have to kill dragons. And if things went wrong, if it seemed as though the tribe was not going to listen, Hiccup would give Astrid a signal and she would open the main gate in hopes that Toothless could escape. They had already been over the plan three times that morning. At this point, she had it memorized.

"You remembered to put Toothless' saddle and prosthetic on last night, just in case?" She asked quickly while absentmindedly smoothing down the leathers covering Hiccup's chest.

Hiccup nodded, placing a calming hand over the anxious ones roaming his chest. "Yes, milady. Toothless knows the plan, or well, well enough anyways. Don't worry, everything will be fine." But even as he tried to ease her worries, she saw a smidgeon of doubt flash in his eyes. He was not completely sold on his plan either. He was just being stubborn.

Gobber chose that moment to appear again and eyed the two's joined hands with twinkling eyes. "Don't worry, lass." He started, addressing Astrid. "Hiccup will return to ye all in one piece. Probably."

Astrid inhaled sharply while Hiccup merely rolled his eyes at Gobber's dramatics, "Thank you for that confidence boost, Gobber."

"Anytime—now get in there!" He demanded and all but yanked Hiccup from Astrid's grasp, not-so-subtlety shoving him out into the arena.

Hiccup floundered in his steps for a few seconds before regaining his footing. With a wink of encouragement, Gobber pulled down the lever and the gate slammed shut with a resounding bang, locking the Hooligan heir inside the arena. Astrid registered Gobber's mismatched footsteps hobbling away, no doubt to join the Chief and the Elders up at the podium in a place of honor. She however, did not follow. She would remain there by the main gate instead of joining her mother or the recruits in the stands. Hopefully no one would notice her absence.

The crowd erupted into near-deafening cheers as Hiccup walked to the center of the arena and readied himself. Astrid watched, her eyes never leaving his stiff form as he awkwardly swung his sword around a few times and fell into a few mock stances as a means to _warm_ _up_. The moves were sloppy, a far cry from his usual disciplined movements. Never had she seen him so off balanced. His chest rose and fell noticeably, as if he had ran half way around the island before the match. His posture was hunched. He looked as if he were drowning in his armor instead of wearing it with pride as normal. She frowned. He was letting his nerves get the best of him.

All went quiet when Hiccup finally sent up a sharp nod to his father, signaling that he was ready for the match to begin. The Chief's massive beard twitched momentarily before he bellowed out the order for the Night Fury's gate to be opened. Two nameless Vikings— _they were too far away for Astrid to make out who they actually were_ —responded to the order and released the giant dual levers that held the gate closed. The eerie creaking of the opening gate echoed through the now too silent arena.

Astrid unknowingly pressed herself against the main gate and clutched frantically at the wrought iron bars. Her gaze was now locked on the rising cell gate and the blackness that resided behind it. It appeared as though the cell was empty, but she knew that was untrue. The unnerving quiet was broken as a deep growl resounded from within the cage that sent shivers down her spine. She was suddenly struck with the possibility that Toothless could very well turn on Hiccup. She wondered if Hiccup had put any thought into _that_ during his planning. Sure, Hiccup might have explained his so-called plan to Toothless and sure, the Night Fury was likely smart enough to understand the gist of it, but he was still a wild animal. It had taken Toothless so long to warm up to just the two of them, alone and at night. How would he react to being under the scrutiny of the entire village during the daytime?

She was about to get her answer.

A long, dark form slunk out of the cage and into the bright morning sunlight on all fours. For the first time, Astrid and the rest of the village got their first glimpse of the elusive dragon in daylight. The sun reflected off of his dark obsidian scales, giving them an indigo-like hue. As Toothless inched further and further into the arena, he hunched his back and regarded the lone figure in the Kill Ring with narrowed citrine eyes, clearly confused as to what was going on. He eyed the sword clutched in Hiccup's left hand with even more suspicion. Astrid forced down the urge to panic. She had to trust that Hiccup knew what he was doing. Everything would be okay.

But just as the thought crossed her mind, someone in the crowd let out a sharp whistle that startled the already edgy Night Fury. Toothless lunged forward and Hiccup was forced to roll out of the dragon's way to avoid being crushed. The crowd burst into cheers of excitement that the fight had finally begun, which only served to agitate Toothless further. He climbed up the arena walls and launched a bright purple plasma blast into the rowdy crowd before latching upside down onto the iron chairs enclosing the top of the Kill Ring. Hiccup meanwhile, scrambled to his feet. To everyone's shock, he tossed away both his long sword and his shield, leaving himself vulnerable to the dragon's attack.

The crowd let out a communal gasp of disbelief.

Astrid's grasp tightened painfully on the bars of the gate. "Hiccup, you better know what you're doing…" She muttered under her breath.

Her gaze shot up nervously to the podium where Stoick sat staring down at his son in angry disbelief. He said something to Gobber, who stood to his left, but she was too far away to hear was it was. However, judging by Gobber's baffled expression, it did not bode well for Hiccup. She looked back to Hiccup who was now attempting to ease Toothless back down to the ground with calming words and gestures. The Night Fury's unnatural green gaze was locked on Hiccup, his pupils widening ever so slightly. Despite the screaming crowd and all the distractions, it was working! Toothless slowly lowered himself back down to the ground and began to cautiously approach Hiccup. Without taking his gaze off of Toothless, Hiccup reached down to his boots and pulled out his secret weapon, something that he had neglected to tell even Astrid about.

In his hands, Hiccup held what appeared to be just the hilt of a sword. However, moments later, Astrid realized it was much more than that. A hallow blade retracted out of the hilt and suddenly burst into bright orange flames, just like a torch. An awestruck grin spread onto Astrid's face when she realized just what she was looking at. It suddenly made sense, the sketches that she had found in Hiccup's work room in the forge, he had somehow made a flaming sword! The crowd likewise exploded into whispers of disbelief and awe, having never seen anything like the weapon held in Hiccup's grasp. Sure, the Hooligan heir was known for creating unconventional weapons and designing things that no one else could ever dream up but this— _this_ was on a whole other level.

When had he even found the time?

Toothless' citrine gaze was locked unwaveringly on the flames enveloping the sword, mesmerized by the fire. Hiccup began to wave his sword slowly in front of him and unsurprisingly, Toothless followed the path with his eyes and released a deep purr-like sound from deep within his throat. He began inching closer and closer to Hiccup's free outstretched palm. Astrid glanced away from them to take in the expressions of the watching crowd. Some appeared dumbfounded and confused, but most held the emotion that Astrid feared most—anger. Those Vikings began hurling out insults, but Hiccup was not deterred. He remained focused on Toothless and Toothless alone, and thus did not see when his father rose from his seat and began shouting angrily at Gobber.

"I need you all to see this!" Hiccup's calm voice echoed throughout the arena, despite the opposition from crowd. "They aren't what we think they are. We don't have to—" But whatever argument Hiccup was about to make was cut off by the livid cry of the Chief.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! FINISH IT!"

Stoick then angrily brought down his war hammer on the iron chains of the enclosure, creating a loud reverberating _bang_ that engulfed the entire arena. Astrid's hands immediately flew up to cover her ears, as did the rest of the crowd. The other cages within the Kill Ring began the rattle as the sound disturbed the other captured dragons. The sound also broke Toothless out of whatever calm trance he had fallen into. His pupils narrowed into thin slits as his instinct for survival kicked in. Everything exploded into chaos. Toothless' teeth retracted from out of his gums and he lunged forward, snapping at Hiccup.

With a swipe of his paw, Toothless knocked the flaming sword right out of Hiccup's grip, sending it tumbling across the dirt ground and eventually, extinguished entirely. The Hooligan heir scarcely had time to jump out of the way before Toothless descended upon him, roaring and snapping savagely like the caged animal that he was. Hiccup scrambled to get away but it was obvious that he was stunned by the quick turn of events. His movements were sluggish at best. Toothless quickly had Hiccup pinned beneath his massive paws. Various members of the crowd cried out in horror but none were more terrified than the lone Viking standing at the main gate. Panic exploded in Astrid's chest when she heard the tell-tale sound of a plasma blast begin to build in the back of the dragon's throat. Her worst fears were coming true, Toothless was turning on him. He could very well kill him. She was struck with that fact that she had to make a choice and she did not have much time to make her decision. Either she would follow through with the alternative plan or she needed trust that Hiccup could handle things himself. True, he had not given her the signal to go through with the alternative, but he was also a bit _preoccupied_ under the paws of an enraged Night Fury so…

Maybe she could just improvise.

Without even pausing to think of the consequences of her actions, Astrid pushed the lever to open the main gate. Her intent was to open the gate just enough so that she could slip under it and distract Toothless long enough for Hiccup to regain his bearings.

"HICCUP!" She cried out. "TOOTHLESS, NO!"

Her scream did indeed capture Toothless' attention as she hoped it would, but to her utter horror, the gate did not stop rising halfway as she thought it would. It opened all the way. Toothless instantly released Hiccup from his paws and jumped at the chance to escape. Before anyone could react, Toothless bowled past Astrid—knocking her unceremoniously down to the ground—and disappeared into the dense forest that lay beyond the Kill Ring. He was gone.

The crowd had fallen into a state of shocked silence.

The Night Fury escaped.

Because someone let it escape.

Astrid realized her grave mistake as she scrambled back up to her feet. Where Toothless had disappeared to was now the last of her worries. She had much a much bigger problem. She had to get away from the gate before someone caught her. But just as the thought crossed her mind, a hand clamped down roughly on her shoulder. She turned to find Snotlout sneering down at her.

 _So much for not getting caught_

"Oh no you don't! You're not going anywhere." He hissed, his blue eyes flashing with disgust. "This is an all new low, even for you, Hofferson."

"Let her go, Snot." Hiccup wheezed, not doubt still recovering from his bout with Toothless. Astrid turned just as he unexpectedly appeared at her other side and grasped her hand tightly in his own, tugging her protectively away from his angry cousin.

Snotlout turned his sneer onto him, "You can't protect her this time! She did it, Hiccup! I saw her open the gate with my very own eyes!"

"She was protecting me, idiot!" Hiccup argued in her defense. "In case you hadn't noticed, that dragon was about to kill me!"

"There is a wild Night Fury on the loose and it's all her fault!"

"So, she made a mistake—"

" _ENOUGH_!"

All three teens flinched.

Stoick the Vast stood before them, fury wrought all over his face and most of it aimed towards Astrid. Her stomach dropped, knowing what that look meant. He too had seen her open the gate and knew that Toothless' release was all her fault. Hiccup noticed his father's incriminating stare as well and jumped to her defense once more.

"Dad, it was an accident. She was just—"

But Stoick was not in the mood for excuses, even from his own son.

"You. Leave us." He gestured to Snotlout.

Not wanting to upset the Chief further, Snotlout promptly made himself scarce.

" _You_. You'll come with me. I will not call for the elders yet. We will discuss matter this in private." Stoick barked, speaking to Astrid this time. Finally, he fixed Hiccup with a glare so foul that Astrid began to tremble. This was no laughing matter. The Chief was furious. "Son, you will clean up this mess and organize a hunting party to capture the escaped beast. I will deal with you later."

Hiccup however, tightened his hold on Astrid's hand. He did not falter under his father's hard stare and even had the audacity to glare right back. "Wherever you're taking her, I'm going with you."

"Son—"

"If you are going to question her, you must have a witness and as her betrothed, I take that responsibility." The younger Haddock spat. Stoick's face began to take on an unnatural shade of purple. He appeared enraged by his Hiccup's choice of words. He opened his mouth, no doubt to rebuke his son when another voice harshly interrupted.

"But I'm her mother. I will be the witness to whatever questioning the Chief submits her to."

Herleva Hofferson stood over the Chief's shoulder, her cold blue eyes locked on her daughter's trembling form. Under normal circumstances, Astrid would have welcomed the sight of her mother but at this point, her tiny mother appeared even scarier than the hulking form of the Chief. Her lips were pinched into an angry frown and her cheeks were stained an angry, vicious red. She looked about five seconds away from throttling her own daughter. But instead of striking her, Herleva merely forced Astrid out of Hiccup's grasp. Her grip was firm, unforgiving even, and Astrid whimpered at the stark difference between her mother's and her betrothed's handling.

"You will stay here and do what I say. By the gods, Hiccup if you disobey me…" Stoick did not have to finish his threat. The implication was clear.

Hiccup clenched his fists and his mouth twisted into a spiteful snarl, but he did not argue this time. Gobber chose that fitting moment to appear and Stoick shortly instructed him to, " _Make sure he doesn't follow_ ," while gesturing towards his son. Gobber compliantly placed a meaty hand on Hiccup's shoulder and held him back as Herleva began to march Astrid away from the Kill Ring and towards the village, where no doubt a sentence awaited her.

* * *

Stoick threw open the door to the empty Great Hall.

The two Hofferson women shuffled in behind him, Herleva all but throwing her daughter inside. As the doors shut ominously behind them, Stoick rounded on Astrid. "Of all the stupid, irresponsible things you have done, this is by far the worst of them! What were you thinking?! How could you let a Night Fury loose on the village?!"

Astrid began to panic. How was she possibly going to explain this without implicating herself and Hiccup? "I didn't—I wasn't—I screwed up but please, be mad at me but just don't…don't take this out on him!" She protested quietly.

"THAT DRAGON NEARLY KILLED MY SON!" Stoick bellowed in reply, barely even registering her words.

"You scared him when you hit the chains with your hammer and he just reacted on instinct! Toothless never would have attacked Hiccup if—" Astrid cried in defense, the words sprouting forth from her mouth before she could stop them. She realized too late that she had referred to Toothless by his _name,_ making the situation that much worse. They knew. Her eyes widened in horror and she cut herself off.

" _Toothless_?"

The Great Hall was suddenly much too silent. Her panicked gaze flickered from the Chief to her mother, almost afraid of what she would find in her mother's eyes. Herleva was furious, that was for sure, and she glared at her daughter with so much contempt, so much shame, that Astrid promptly burst into desperate tears.

"I am so sorry, mother!" She tried.

Herleva's glare was unforgiving, "You _named_ that creature, Astrid. Is—is that where you have been running off too at all hours of the night?" She cried as she threw up her hands in realization. "This how you repay your father's sacrifice? There is no appropriate word for this level of dishonor that you have dealt the Hofferson clan! The girl I raised would never do something so treacherous as to side with the enemy. They are the reason we lost our honor! They are the reason our family was torn apart! Does that mean nothing to you?!" Herleva's gaze suddenly fell away, staring stubbornly at the floor instead of her own daughter. "I—I can't even look at you, I am so ashamed."

"But mother, I—"

"NO!" Astrid flinched at the sudden murderous tone of her mother's voice. "You have no right to call me that! You are no daughter of mine!"

With that, Herleva abruptly gathered her skirts and stormed from the Great Hall, not looking back once. When the doors slammed shut behind her, Astrid felt her heart crumple in her chest. She could not even argue. _Her mother was right_. Tears streamed down Astrid's cheeks but she had not the will to stop them.

"So everything in the Ring, a trick? A lie?" The Chief suddenly spat.

Astrid could not even muster the words to deny it, so she merely nodded. It was true after all. Her success in dragon training was nothing but a lie. She had never had any intention of killing the dragons, she had only wanted to pacify them. "They aren't what we think they are. They're not dangerous." She half-heartedly reasoned.

"They have killed HUNDREDS OF US!"

Desperation filled her. If she was going down, she might as well make it count. Perhaps if she tried hard enough, she could get it through the Chief's thick skull.

"AND WE'VE KILLED THOUSANDS OF THEM! They are defending themselves, that's all! Dragons are not the dangerous, horrible monsters that we think they are. They are only acting on their instincts to survive. If you go after a bear with a crossbow or a spear, will it not fight back? Well, so will a dragon. I believe they only attack the village because they are after our food. You do not see them initially attacking the forge or the armory. No, they first go after the livestock! If they really wanted to—"

"You have thrown your lot in with them. You are not a Viking!" Stoick seethed, effectively cutting off her speech. She instantly deflated. He was not going to listen to any reasonable argument she made. She suddenly wondered if this is what Hiccup felt like. It was true. Stoick never listened. "You have dishonored your tribe, your family, in a far greater way than your uncle and father ever could. The last of your clan has already seen fit to disown you. In siding with _them_ , you have committed high treason. Therefore, I hereby banish you from the Hairy Hooligan tribe as punishment."

"Chief, please—"

He cut her off once more, "You have until sunset to leave the island. I will not call for a council or a public trial. The village can believe that you ran away on your own. Those are my terms. I believe I have more than merciful, given the circumstances. My son would never forgive me if I had you executed. And neither would Val." The last part was added under his breath, almost as an afterthought.

Truthfully, it was a generous punishment and even more generous terms. He was right. He could have had her executed for treason, but banishment, even if it was not official, was not without its hardships either. She had never been out of her own. Sure she knew the basic survival skills that every Viking was taught growing up but they were meant to be used in short time circumstances, not permanently. She could go to another village but as she was a female, that could be dangerous. Additionally, her banishment meant that she would never be welcomed back on the island, unless pardoned by the Chief. Cold dread filled her heart. If she were banished from the island then that meant—

The door suddenly flung open, slamming thunderously against the walls of the Great Hall. The Hall's occupants head's snapped to the door where Hiccup stood at the entrance, the late morning sun streamed in behind him and caught the reds in his hair. He was panting and looked a little worse for wear. Clearly he had not escaped Gobber's watch easily. Astrid expected the Chief to be furious at his son for disobeying his orders, but the cool mask never left his face. His grim frown was in fact hidden by the expanse of hair that covered the lower half of his face.

"Dad, what's going on?" Hiccup began, looking between Astrid and his father nervously. Astrid choked back a sob at seeing him after coming to her realization. "What did you do to her?!" He shouted. For a moment, the Chief did not answer. It was not until he made to push by his son to leave the Hall that he met Hiccup's confused gaze and then Astrid's tearful one fleetingly.

"Consider your contract null," was the only answer he gave. **[2]**

And then, he too was gone.

At those words, all of Astrid's strength left her and she found her legs giving out. Hiccup meanwhile remained in the doorway, too stunned and too heartbroken to even attempt to catch her. She collapsed to her knees with another strangled sob. Her mother disowned her and the chief banished her. In a matter of minutes she had lost everything _—_ her home, her tribe, her family, her betrothed—gone. Her whirlwind romance, shattered. Her entire future, the one that she had only just realized less than a week ago was even possible, stolen from her. She had nothing now. She had only a matter of hours to gather her belongings and make a plan to leave the island, never to return.

She was terrified.

Where was she to go? What was she to do?

"Banishment."

The whispered word echoed across the empty Hall. It was not a question, but a statement. There was no need for her to answer him. He already knew. It was not until she lowered her head into her hands and began to openly cry into them, that Hiccup finally snapped back to reality. He scurried across the stone floor, slid down to the floor next to her, and pulled her into his lap, rocking them both back and forth. She could not bear to look at his face and see the same anguish that she felt. Thus, Astrid buried her face into his neck and inhaled his familiar scent, committing it to memory. She would never forget it. Eventually Astrid's loud sobs quieted, for there was no need for them. It would not change anything. Hiccup gently stroked her hair. No words passed between them. There was nothing to say.

All too soon he pulled away from her and helped her rise to her feet. "We can't say here." He murmured in explanation, brushing the silent tears from her eyes with calloused thumbs.

As much as she wanted to remain there on the floor, locked in his embrace she knew that he was right. The Hall would be filled with people before too long and she wanted to be long gone before the rumors started to circulate. Together, the exited the Great Hall through one of the side entrances and found themselves walking unconsciously hand in hand towards the forest.

"So, what's the plan?"

She shrugged, squinting under the bright sun. The one day it was actually sunny on Berk and it was undoubtedly the worst day of her life. The Gods hated her.

"I don't—I don't know."

Hiccup thought for a moment, "You need to gather provisions. Actually, no, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go back in the village." He added a moment later. She was thankful at least one of them had their head on their shoulders and could think rationally. "I'll gather what provisions I can, you find Stormfly. You need to make sure she'I'll meet you both in the grove." At the mention of the Nadder, Astrid's heart lightened somewhat. She supposed that she was not losing everythingafter all. At least she still had her dragon. Then it hit her. In all the chaos after the match, she had forgotten all about—

"Wait, what about Toothless?" She voiced. "They've surely organized a hunting party by this point. Shouldn't you be looking for him?"

"He got away, didn't he? He's much smarter than the average Viking, he'll be fine. I can find him later." Hiccup answered confidently. He squeezed her hand, "Right now, you are more important."

In lieu of anything better to say, she nodded.

Hiccup let go of her, but not before kissing her chastely on the cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He promised.

She watched as he jogged down the hill and disappeared into the village below. Her heart clenched at the sight of him leaving her. Although their secret courtship had been short, she was not sure what she was going to do without him. She could not stay on the island, not even secretly. The Chief had been generous, she would not take that generosity for granted.

Once he was gone, she wiped her face of tears and told herself that she could not cry anymore. Crying would solve nothing and she was stronger than that. Astrid pushed all the negative and fearful thoughts from her mind and forced herself to focus only on finding her dragon. _If she found Stormfly, everything would be okay_. That is what she told herself anyway. Thus, she stumbled through the forest in search of said dragon, not even bothering to be stealthy about it. What was the worst that was going to happen if someone found her anyways? No one would know of her banishment if the chief kept his word. Until sundown, she could do whatever she felt like.

It took her quite a while to find the grove, as she was taking a different path than usual. When she finally did find it, Stormfly was waiting for her. With all the stomping she had been doing, the Nadder had probably heard her coming for miles. Stormfly trilled upon seeing Astrid enter the grove and immediately began to nose at the blonde's braid. The laughter that bubbled at the young Viking's lips was humorless. Stormfly chirped in concern.

"Well girl, it looks like we're taking a little vacation." She murmured sadly, stroking at the Nadder's frontal horn.

Stormfly cocked her heard curiously, not understanding Astrid's words.

The dragon and Viking duo waited patiently for Hiccup's return. They did not have to wait long. As promised, his return was prompt. He stumbled breathlessly into the grove not even half an hour after Astrid herself arrived. And it did not take her long to realize why he was so breathless—he was carrying more provisions than what were needed for just one person. In fact, he had enough packed enough for at least _two_ travelers, not to mention her weapons and his own.

Her heart began to beat a little faster in her chest.

"Come on, we do not have much time. We'll go find Toothless and then the four of us will set out. Just me, you, and our dragons. The whole world is before us!" He said brightly, not daring to look her in the eye as he began strapping their supplies to Stormfly's back with some rope he had brought. Stormfly bristled under the unfamiliar handling and weight, not used to carrying anything aside from Astrid.

Her fiancé— _ex-fiancé_ —was an idiot.

But oh, how she wished it could be true.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" She asked quietly.

"Did you honestly think I would let you go alone?" He asked, sounding almost disappointed that the thought had not crossed her mind. He patted Stormfly's flank and met her eyes hesitantly. "Astrid, we are in this together. I can't stay here knowing you are out there!" He gestured wildly in an unknown direction.

She was torn. While she wanted nothing more than him to join her in her banishment, she knew that it was not fair to the tribe. "You cannot be serious! You are heir to the chiefdom! What about your people?!" She argued.

"What makes you think that I would ever want to lead this tribe after everything that has happened?" Hiccup asked seriously, his green eyes blazing. "I will never be the successor my father wants. I will never kill another dragon, not now that I know the truth."

"And that is why you must stay." She reasoned, hating herself for it. "Your place is with your people."

"My place is with you. If you leave without me, I will run back to the village and confess everything to my father. I'll find Toothless and we'll come after you." He threatened.

Astrid reached out and placed her hand against his cheek. He leaned into her touch, fixing her with a pair of anguished green eyes. The look on his face was almost enough to change her mind but she fought it. She knew that it was not right. When she finally spoke, she was proud for how her voice came out surprisingly strong. "No Hiccup, your place is here. You can't tell your father what really happened today. Let them all believe it was my fault. Keep working with the dragons. Someone has to protect them. You are the strongest, smartest Viking I know, and can be even more stubborn than your father on his worst days. If anyone can change Berk's mind, it is you. You have what it takes, in here." She placed her hand over his heart. Even though his leathers, she could feel it pounding frantically. "You must stay here and end this war."

"You made me promise to never to give up on us again. Why are you asking me to go back on that promise?" He demanded, bringing up what she had made him promise only the week before when she found out about the marriage contract between them. "If you leave and I stay here, what happens to us?"

"I'm asking you to stay here and fight _for_ us." She did not say any more, knowing he would understand what she had left unspoken. _Change your father's mind and I can return_.

He was quiet for several moments, taking in her words. When he finally did reply, it was not at all what she was expecting. "When you first met Stormfly in the woods, what stayed your hand? Any other Viking would have killed her on the spot. Why didn't you?"

"What-what does that have to do with anything?" She gasped at the sudden change in subject.

Hiccup sighed, "Astrid, just…please answer the question."

"I don't know, I couldn't."

"That's not an answer."

She rolled her eyes, "I just don't get why this is so important to you all of a sudden? This seems like the last thing we should be discussing right now."

He closed his eyes and breathed in heavily through his nose. When they fluttered back open moments later, Astrid was taken aback by the determination that she found within them. "Because I want to remember what you say, right now. So that whenever I look at a dragon from this point forward, your reasoning will overcome all that I have been taught for nineteen years." He said seriously.

"I just—I don't know!"

And truthfully, she did not know how to answer such a question. What stopped her from attacking Stormfly the first time that she saw her, other than the fact that Stormfly could have snapped her like a twig in a matter of seconds? Any other Viking would have tried regardless, but not her. _Why_?

"What do you want me to say, Hiccup? I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn't kill a dragon!"

"You said wouldn't that time."

" _Oh for the love of_ —fine! I _wouldn't_ kill her!" She shouted, ignoring the way that Stormfly began to fidget nervously at her angry tone. Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest and smiled sadly, gesturing for her to continue. "She didn't look dangerous, she looked curious. It would have been like attacking a puppy or a baby yak. I just…I couldn't do it." Stormfly chirped worriedly and nudged Astrid's shoulder. She reached up and calmly stroked her dragon's scales, her eyes locked firmly on Stormfly for support. "And despite everything that's happened, I'm glad I didn't do it. I know the truth. More importantly, now _you_ know the truth and that is more valuable than anything else I could ever ask for."

When Hiccup did not respond, she was afraid that somehow she had offended him. Yet, when she finally mustered the courage to look at him, she was both stunned and horrified to find him crying. Silent tears streamed down his face and fell onto his leather armor, leaving tiny droplets behind. She could scarcely believe her eyes, it was the first time he had ever openly cried in front of her. He was not even trying to hide it from her this time.

"I love you."

It was the first time he had ever spoken those words to her aloud and somehow it made her even more determined that he had to stay. He could not go with her. "Hiccup. Do not follow me." She knew that the words were harsh, but they had to be said.

He shook his head frantically, unwilling to promise her such a thing.

"Take—take care of the dragons, all of them, please. I have grown quite attached to them." _It is now or never_. Before he could protest or try to stop her, she jumped onto Stormfly's back. Knowing what her rider wanted, Stormfly flapped her wings and began to rise into the air, quickly going well above Hiccup's reach. "I can't stay here. It's best that I go, for now anyways. I will be okay. You will find a way to fix this and when that day comes, we will see each other again." She promised. "Fight for us."

His face crumpled at the repeated words.

Astrid forced a smile to her lips and ran her eyes over his form one last time and just like his scent, she committed him to memory. He was all arms and legs, thin and lanky, like a string bean. She doubted that that would ever change. He had a smattering of freckles across his sharp nose, too large of eyes for his angular face, and a pair of thin pale lips that she knew molded perfectly to hers. His hair was soft, she that knew from experience now. It was an unruly mess of dark auburn with brilliant streaks of red, currently highlighted by the sun pouring down from above them.

He owned her heart, he always would. She loved him too.

And then she did one of the hardest things that she had ever had to do, she turned away.

With a nudge to Stormfly's flank, the pair took to the skies. She kept the forced smile on her face until they were well above the trees, despite the fact that her heart was shattering within her chest. It was only when she knew that she was out of his sight that she let it fall. It was just in time, as she could no longer hold the charade. Because even the sound of the wind rushing in her ears and the flapping of Stormfly's wings could not drown out the sound of the furious pleading for her return that rose up from the forest below.

—

 **[1] As I am sure you can all figure out from the previous chapter,** _ **frjádagr**_ **(also called Freya's Day) is the Old Norse equivalent for Friday.**

 **[2] Remember in my disclaimer where I said that I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across in this story? This part** _ **may**_ **be one of them. I tried to do research on this topic but there is just not a whole lot of information on broken betrothals considering they are in fact binding contracts and most people were smart enough not to break them. I would imagine that banishment or being outlawed** _ **could**_ **lead to a betrothal's annulment but like I said, I am not positive on that fact. Either way, with Astrid having been disowned by her mother, she is cut off from all ties to the Hofferson clan and that unfortunately, includes her dowry. :/ No dowry, no marriage.**

—

 **I am so sorry.**

 ***hides behind shield***

 **These two have sure been through the ringer lately, haven't they? I promise it will get better—** _ **not immediately**_ **—but this story does have a happy ending somewhere along the line. We just have to get through a bunch of messy stuff first.** **I have set up this story so that it is split into three parts, or story arcs if you will. The first of the three arcs is by far the longest and will end in the next chapter. The first arc has focused on introducing our main players and dragons. Then we start Part II, which is not super long (probably about four/five chapters) and will focus on Astrid's character growth as she struggles to** _ **really**_ **find herself. It is a decent-sized detour from the first movie but still will be compliant to the entire canon-verse.** _ **Hint**_ **. Then we go into Act III, which will take us back into the first movie direction.**

 **I want to assure you all that this is not just some random turn of events that I threw in flippantly, this is something that I had planned from the very beginning. Why do you think Hiccup and Astrid never discovered the dragons nest after the "Romantic Flight" sequence? The dragons nest will be discovered, but not yet. The story is far from over. Astrid has some growing up to do—and it's not going to happen on Berk under the nose of the village that holds so much distain for her clan. So I really wanted to explore her character somewhere…not Berk, and the original Stoick/Hiccup scene from the first movie gave me that option. Please remember, this AU will eventually end up mostly compliant to the movie. We're just taking a slight…or major…detour for the moment…** **I am fully aware that this chapter may be upsetting to several of you, but I hope that you stick with me for the remaining two story arcs regardless.**

 **This chapter was almost split into two. At least I didn't do that, right? I'm not** _ **that**_ **cruel.**

 **To compensate for the way depressing way this chapter ended, I have a bit of** **good news** **and** **a surprise!** **Remember when I mentioned several chapters back that there would be a chapter from Hiccup's perspective? :D Well, get ready because it's coming very soon! This chapter is a little bit different from my usual writing style so I'm really, really anxious to hear what you all thought of chapter thirteen. Please leave me your thoughts in a review! I love hearing from you all!**

— **Mari.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Chapter Fourteen**

His eyes were itchy.

If there was one thing that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III had always prided himself on, it was the ability to hide his emotions. It was his duty as the future chief after all. Yet, it had not always been easy for him to fit into that mold. He could still remember the looks that he received from the villagers that began during his early childhood and continued all the way up until the time he turned fifteen—a raised eyebrow here, a dismissive scowl there.

 _This is the son of Stoick the_ _Vast? This is Berk's future?_

Luckily, most of the discouragement he received from the village as a young boy melded away after he started to take his training seriously. His father was considered the best chief that Berk had ever had. It was a lot to live up to and he had to work twice as hard as anyone else would to prove that to the village. He had not wanted to become chief, not at first, but eventually he had become resigned to the idea. He would always live under his father's shadow, but he could not run away from his birthright. Besides, if he did not take up the chiefdom, Snotlout would become the next chief, and Berk would really be doomed then.

After he had actually started listening to his lessons, he realized that they were not so bad after all. The physical part of training, while not his favorite, had left him with a little bit more muscle and a decent sword arm. That had certainly helped him confidence wise. The politics, he actually found interesting rather than the snooze-fest Snotlout complained they were. Before long, he excelled at his lessons. His father had been thrilled, glad that he was finally showing promise, and immediately began to load him with all sorts of responsibilities. That was nearly four years ago. It had been tough at first, but he had muddled through it and eventually grew into his own skin. Now at nineteen, he finally felt as though he was becoming someone that his father could be proud of, at least a little bit.

But he had been prepared to throw all of that away though, for Astrid.

He loved her. He had always loved her. She had always been there in the back of his mind, even when she was the last person he wanted to think about. He had not been lying to her when he said that he was thrilled when his father first told him about their contract. Sure, it had been a little overwhelming for his fifteen year old mind to handle at the time, but he knew right then and there that he would never be able to picture himself with anyone else. It was only Astrid. It would always be Astrid.

Consequently, he had been crushed when he came to the conclusion that she did not feel the same way. What else was he supposed to think when she began avoiding him? Although he knew now that she had never even known about the contract, at the time he had let his insecurities get the better of him. He was an idiot. He should have fought for her then instead of wallowing in self-pity and turning his back on her. Maybe then they would not have wasted so much time. He regretted that the most. Especially now that she was _gone_.

He still could not believe it. Perhaps that was why he was still standing in the same spot that she left him in, staring up at the canopy of trees in hopes that Stormfly would burst back through at any given moment and Astrid would tell him that she changed her mind. He would climb up behind her onto Stormfly's back, they would find Toothless, and they would all fly off together—given that Toothless' tail fin still worked.

He waited.

And waited.

But she never came back.

At sunset, Hiccup finally mustered up the strength to rub the long-dried tears from his cheeks and began the lonely trek back to the village. As he cut his own path back through the brush using one of his daggers, he steeled himself for the gossip. No doubt news of Astrid's banishment would have spread through the village by now. **[1]** Hopefully no one was stupid enough to throw a party—he might just loose it if they did. Maybe he could just slip into the forge without anyone noticing him. He had already decided that there was no way in Hel he was going back to his hall that night. He knew he could not look his father in the eye, much less be in the same room with him, for fear of lashing out. Since his father was probably still riled up from the events that morning, Hiccup knew that avoidance was his best bet for now. He would try to catch some sleep in his workroom that night, Gobber would not mind. Out of everyone, Gobber was the most likely to understand his heartache. The blacksmith had always been privy to Hiccup's feelings for Astrid.

Hiccup was angry, very angry, but he also felt guilt.

The events of that afternoon were not just the fault of his father, but his own as well.

Astrid had warned him that his crazy plan was sure to go wrong, that it was too risky, but he did not listen. In that aspect, he was no better than his father. And once again, Astrid had been right. Some minds just could not be changed. Dragons had caused too much heartache, too much destruction for Berk. His father would never listen. So in the end, it was his own unwillingness to listen that had been what truly led to Astrid's banishment. Deep down, as much as he loathed to admit it, Hiccup knew that his father was justified in his actions. By allying herself with the dragons, Astrid had committed treason. As the chief, his father had every right to banish her and even Hiccup could not deny that that was a generous punishment. Regardless—once they both had taken the time to cool off—he would do everything in his power to convince his father to reverse Astrid's banishment. Knowing his father's stubbornness as he did, that process could take months.

Then he would have to find her.

By that point, Astrid and Stormfly could be anywhere in the archipelago, maybe even beyond that. He hoped she would eventually write him, even if just to let him know she was safe. Technically that was against the terms of her banishment, but Hiccup could not find it in himself to care and he hoped Astrid did not either. He hoped she would disregard to rules. He needed to know she would be okay. He worried for her. _Vintr_ was so close. Would she be okay out there on her own? Aside from giving him some peace of mind, it would be easier to track her down when the time came if she wrote to him. Maybe she would tell him where she was. His mind whirled as he continued walking blindly on his path, momentarily distracted by brainstorming ways to ensure Astrid's return to Berk.

When he finally made it back to the village, he was surprised to find a lone figure waiting for him at the very edge of the tree line. She sat cross-legged on the ground, viciously plucking at blades of dried grass and judging by her substantial pile, she had been there for a while. Of all the things that he expected to be confronted with upon his return, Ruffnut Thorston was not one of them. When she saw him, she immediately scrambled up to her feet and fixed him with a cold stare that caused him to falter in his steps. What had he possibly done to deserve such a look?

"I almost did not think you were coming back," were the first words out of her mouth.

Hiccup eyed her warily, hoping she had not voiced those suspicions to anyone else. Sure, she had come a long way in terms maturity, but Ruffnut was still crazy. The last thing he needed was his father to find out that he almost left the island with Astrid.

"Why would you think that?" He finally asked.

"When you walked into the forest a few hours ago, it looked like you had packed your whole hall in those satchels." She ignored his startled look that she had been watching him and pressed on, "Where's Astrid?"

"Wait, you were following me?" He sputtered.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "After what happened this morning, rumors are flying around the village like crazy. I figured if anyone knew the truth, it would be you." He did not want to know why she had thought to seek _him_ out of all people for information. Perhaps he and Astrid had not been as discrete as he thought. "So I tried to follow you when I saw you heading into the forest, but you're a lot faster than I gave you credit for." She added, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Thanks…I guess."

"I answered your pointless question. Now, where is Astrid?"

"I don't know."

She glared, clearly not believing him. "Yes you do." But it was not a lie, not really. Hiccup truthfully had no idea where Astrid was now nor did he know where she was going. He only knew she was gone. When he did not answer her, Ruffnut dug her heels in a little harder. "Then what happened to all the stuff you were carrying earlier?"

"It's gone." He spat, getting irritated by her questioning.

"Gone _where_?"

Hiccup threw his hands in the air in exasperation, "I don't know, okay! She's gone! She just—Astrid's gone…" He admitted and silently cursed himself for how his voice broke at the end.

"But why?" By the look on her face, Ruffnut already knew the answer but she asked anyways. "Why would she just leave?"

His fists clenched. "Banishment."

"What?!"

Hiccup knew that Ruffnut was one of Astrid's closest friends and he knew that she had to be hurting just as much as he was, but he just did not have it in him to answer any more of her incessant questions. It hurt too much. All he wanted was to hole himself up in his workroom and distract himself with something useful. He needed to process. Gobber had a pretty large pile of scrap metal he could work on, that would probably help clear his mind for at least a couple hours.

"Why?" She asked again, this time her voice was much firmer. Hiccup tried to brush past her but she roughly grabbed his arm, "Why Hiccup? What could she possibly have done to deserve banishment?"

"You were up in the stands, you saw what she did." He spat.

"So, she accidentally let a wild dragon loose on the village…" She drawled like it was no big deal. In fact, she sounded sort of proud that Astrid had let Toothless escape. He supposed it was her love for chaos more than any kind of sentiment for the Night Fury. "I don't see what the big fuss is. Tuffnut blew up a chicken coop last week for fun and barely got a slap on the wrist for it. How is what Astrid did deserving of being kicked off the island? If anything, she should get a medal for saving your sorry ass. That dragon was about to blast you to bits."

Hiccup flinched, remembering the split terrifying moment when he truly thought he was going to die from a Night Fury's plasma blast. It was another thing that he needed to process and one of the reasons he was not out searching for Toothless that very second. He hated to admit it, but seeing Toothless turn on him had rattled him. Had his unwillingness to listen and foolish plan also broken his dragon's trust in him?

"I can't. That's all I can tell you." He finally muttered.

Because even as close of friends as Ruffnut and Astrid were, he would not betray Astrid's secrets so easily.

"Like Hel you can't, Hiccup Haddock!" Ruffnut screeched, digging her nails viciously into his bicep. He was suddenly quite thankful he had leather armor on. He looked into her angry eyes. They were blue, just like Astrid's, but much colder and sharper than his beloveds. " _You_ weren't there for her when she needed you most. _You_ decided that your responsibilities were more important than her. _I_ on the other hand, was there for her while you were too busy with your head stuck so far up your father's ass that you couldn't see how much pain she was in. Don't you dare tell me that you can't tell me what happened to her, because I am far more deserving of her confidence than you!"

And then she finished up her tirade by spitting in right in his face.

Hiccup gawked at her as the warm, sticky glob of saliva slid down his cheek. The worst thing was that he could not be angry at her, not even for spitting on him. He deserved it. All of it. Ruffnut was right. He may have been Astrid's best friend growing up, but Ruffnut had more than earned that title from him over the course of the last few years. He had always loved her yes, but up until very recently, he had not been a friend to Astrid. But Ruffnut had and that made him feel guilty keeping everything from her. He wanted to tell her—for her sake and for his, he did not want to have to keep the burden all to himself after all.

The only question was, could he trust her?

When he asked her that very question, she responded with a stony, "I keep plenty of secrets, Hiccup. Such as what I saw you and Astrid doing in between two houses the other night when you thought no one was looking."

Hiccup quickly recalled what Ruffnut is referring to—an impromptu and rather risqué make out session with his betrothed. It had been late and they thought no one had been around. He had not meant for things to get so heated, they were out in public after all. But Astrid had looked so beautiful, the moonlight shining in her flaxen hair and her sapphire eyes sparkling, that he just had not been able help himself. He never could help himself. Astrid was his weakness. Besides, if her nails scratching down his back and quiet sighs had been any indication, she had not exactly been complaining about it.

The memory of their amorous encounter should have been a happy one for Hiccup, but instead it only served as a grisly reminder that he would never kiss her like that again for a long time, if ever. The look on Astrid's face when she flew away from him flashed before his eyes unwarranted.

A horrible realization struck him, so hard and so fast that his knees buckled.

He had never kissed her goodbye. She had left without giving him the chance.

But it would do him no good to dwell on that fact. He forced the thought aside and focused back on his current companion's face. Ruffnut was still seething. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her steel-blue eyes sparked with barely contained fury. She wanted answers and he knew without a doubt that she would get them eventually, even if she had to beat them out of him. Yet, beneath all the anger, he could see desperation and worry beginning to slip through the cracks. She was truly concerned about Astrid and that was enough for him to make his decision. He could only hope that she would not betray his trust.

"What I'm about to tell you is only known to Astrid and myself." Hiccup began stonily, his face falling into an unreadable mask. "You must keep it a secret as well. Tell no one."

Ruffnut nodded.

And so he began to piece together the story for her as best as he could. His memory of Astrid's initial encounters with Stormfly were fuzzy at best. It was something that she had only told him once, during their first flight nearly a moon ago, so he skimmed over those details. He quickly moved on to his discovery of Astrid's treachery and their first flight. Ruffnut had the nerve to crack a smile when he described Astrid instructing her dragon to drop him but for the most part, she stayed silent. She did not say a word when he told her of his and Astrid's betrothal. Her face remained impassive even as he confessed to helping the Night Fury, building a replacement tail fin, and naming the dragon Toothless.

By the time he got to the part of the story that had happened only hours before, his final parting with Astrid, he was sure that he made a mistake in telling Ruffnut everything but he was too far into the story to just…stop. Even when he finished, she remained silent. The thick silence festered around them and he fidgeted, waiting for her to turn and run to the village to tell his father everything. Astrid was not the only one who had betrayed the tribe, he had just as big a role. Truthfully, he would not blame her if she ratted him out. It just meant that he had an excuse to leave. He would find Toothless and the two of them would search for Astrid and Stormfly, if the Night Fury still trusted him that is. But at the same time, he would then break his promise to Astrid that he would protect the other dragons. No, he had to stay. If only for their sake. Like Astrid, he had grown attached to them as well.

Thus, you could not blame him for being surprised when Ruffnut suddenly launched herself forward and captured him in a bone-crushing hug, a feat quite surprising for a woman so lithe. He flailed awkwardly in the unexpected embrace, not sure if it was ploy to kill him or if she was actually _hugging_ him. He got his answer a second later when she finally spoke, "I never knew that you and Astrid were engaged. I had no idea that things were that serious. I just thought that you finally got your act together and realized how amazing she is."

Hiccup could not help rolling his eyes.

Of the entire tale, leave it to Ruffnut to focus on that.

"I have always known how amazing Astrid is." He defended himself. "I just thought that she never returned my feelings. I was stupid. I only pushed her away because I thought it was the only way to get over her."

Ruffnut frowned. "You're an idiot."

"That seems to be the consensus." He drawled sarcastically with a shrug of his shoulders.

They fell quiet again for a time. The silence was not awkward or painful this time. Hiccup was pleasantly surprised at how well Ruffnut was taking everything. Sure, it was clear that she was still processing it all, but she was already handling it better than he had initially. It only went to show just how much trust that she had in Astrid.

"So what are you going to do now?" She finally asked.

"I—I don't know." He answered truthfully. "I am going to talk to my Dad eventually but first, I need to find Toothless."

"The Night Fury?"

"Yes."

"Whatever you need Hiccup, I will help." She said, not meeting his eyes and instead fixated on something over his shoulder. His own green orbs narrowed in suspicion, not liking the way that a guilty look suddenly crossed over her features. Before he could ask her about it, she continued. "In fact, I think we are _all_ here for you."

Hiccup froze.

 _We_?

An unknown hand landed on his shoulder. Hiccup whirled around only to meet the drawn face of his own cousin and behind him stood two other familiar figures—Fishlegs and Tuffnut. By the way they looked at him, Hiccup knew that they had heard it all. They knew that he and Astrid both had betrayed the tribe. At first he was furious. He had no doubt that Ruffnut had known they were listening all along and had said nothing, even after he told her that no one else could know. But then, that anger gave over to another emotions as terror gripped at his heart with an icy fist. While he trusted that Ruffnut was not going to bolt to the village, the same could not be said for the other three.

But then the girl's words registered with him.

 _I think we are_ all _here for you_.

Hiccup took a second glance at those gathered around him. Ruffnut looked sheepish, but unsurprised by the other three's sudden appearance, confirming that she had indeed known they were eavesdropping the whole time. His gaze shifted then to Snotlout, who was closest to him. Snot regarded him with a serious expression, but it was not the angry one he expected. His cousin looked determined if anything, but for what reason, Hiccup did not know for sure. Fishlegs meanwhile was chewing on his bottom lip and seemed incapable of meeting Hiccup's eye. Tuffnut for once was not showing any emotions, until he noticed Hiccup looking at him that is, and then he cracked a small grin and shot him a quick thumbs up. The fear drained from his chest only to be replaced by confusion. Why were they not angry at him? He eventually turned back to Ruffnut and raised a single eyebrow in question, unable to voice the thousands of questions whirling around in his brain.

But Ruffnut did not apologize nor did she offer an explanation, she merely grinned.

"So what's the plan, Dragon Master?" She asked, cocking her hip out saucily.

—

Her entire body was numb.

Astrid could not say for sure how long she and Stormfly had been flying, but she did know that several hours had passed. It had been mid-morning when they left Berk and although the skies had been clear then, that was no longer the case. The further south they flew, the wind was more chaotic and the darker the clouds began to look in the distance. The last thing they needed was to be caught in a storm over the middle of the ocean. Astrid knew they would have to find a place to land before too long, but she had no idea where. All around her was an endless expanse of ocean. Not a single land mass was anywhere within her sight.

Luckily, Stormfly's survival instincts would prove to be more useful than Astrid's that day. The Nadder abruptly veered off course and began flying in a whole new direction.

"Woah!" Astrid cried out in surprise and although she knew she that her dragon could not answer, she asked the obvious question anyway, "Where are you taking us, Stormfly?"

It was not long before she received an answer. A grey dot began to take shape in the distance. As they flew in closer, she realized it was an island and sighed in relief. They would be safe, for one night at least. The island was small in size, only equaling a quarter of the Isle of Berk as a whole and was very rocky with only a small expanse of thick vegetation towards the inner portion of the island. It was the perfect place for them to seek shelter. Even better, it seemed to be uninhabited. There was no sign of life other than a few small animals anywhere near the beach. **[2]**

Stormfly landed on the beach and after some quick exploration, Astrid discovered a small niche in the rocky cliffside near the shore. It was not large enough by any means to be considered a cave, but it was both tall and deep enough protect Astrid and Stormfly from the oncoming storm. After sharing some fish jerky with Stormfly, Astrid knew that she had to set up a makeshift camp for the evening. She made quick work of gathering what little firewood she could find, which turned out to be mostly driftwood found washed up on the shore. By nightfall, she had a small fire going to keep her and Stormfly warm. It proved to be just in time. No sooner had she settled down against Stormfly's flank did the heavens finally open up and rain began to fall in earnest. With trembling hands, Astrid dug into her packs and pulled out several furs. Soon, she was all but swaddled in thick bearskins.

Exhausted from the long flight, Stormfly soon fell asleep. Seeing the sleeping Nadder made Astrid feel safer as she knew that if there were any chance of danger, Stormfly would not have let her guard down so easily. Astrid could not blame her dragon for being so tired, she had no doubt that the Deadly Nadder was not used to flying such a far distance and with so much added weight. Astrid almost felt guilty, but she knew that the provisions that Hiccup had brought were necessary for her survival. She could not part with them, not even to lessen Stormfly's load.

Cold, damp air continued to cut through the rock shelter. Despite the fire roaring before her and the warmth added by the furs, Astrid could not stop shaking. The furs were not her own. They held another's scent—Hiccup's. He must have packed his own furs, thinking that he was coming with her. As the thought crossed her mind, she was hit with a pang of regret. Had she allowed Hiccup to come with her, he would know what to do next. He would have made sure that the two of them and their dragons would be safe. He would have a plan. But Hiccup was not there, because she had not allowed him to come. Her sense of duty had won out against her own personal desires and fears. As such, she was alone, with only Stormfly as her companion, and terribly afraid.

Quiet sobs escaped her lips as the reality of everything crashed down upon her like a giant wave. Sure, they were safe for the moment, but how long could she and Stormfly survive on the island by themselves? Where would they go next? She would most likely never be able to be a part of normal civilization again. How could she? She had no name, no honor, no money, and no true skills. Her mother's cold words haunted her. She had sided with the enemy. This was to be her life now— _unless she abandoned Stormfly, which she would never do_ —constantly fighting for survival.

In the end, Astrid did the only thing that she could do for the time being. She snuggled further into the sleeping Nadder's side, pulled Hiccup's furs up to her nose, and inhaled. The familiar smell of the forge overtook her scenes. It was so strong that if she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine that he was right there with her, keeping her warm and safe. With that thought, she was finally able to relax.

And not long after that, sleep finally took her as well.

—

He still could not believe it.

Later that evening, Hiccup found himself traipsing through the darkened woods with only a small torch to light the way. And, more importantly, he was not alone. There were four others with him. Now, that would not have been so strange were they not looking for a dragon. Even stranger, they carried no weapons with them. They were not a hunting party, they were a search and rescue party. His friends were helping him look for Toothless and each of them had come on their own free will. They did not have to and truthfully, he could have done this alone, but it still made his heart warm to known that they were willing to help regardless. Hiccup was stunned by their change of heart. Still, his friends believed him. They trusted him. And that gave him hope that maybe, eventually, the rest of Berk could as well.

"Isn't it counterproductive to search for a Night Fury…at _night_?" Fishlegs croaked from his position near Hiccup. Surprisingly, Snotlout and the twins enthusiastically led their makeshift search party while Fishlegs brought up the rear along with Hiccup. Out of all of the group, Fishlegs was the most reluctant to the search. Whether that was because he was afraid of the dragon or just afraid of the woods at night, Hiccup could not be sure.

"This is our best chance to find Toothless." Hiccup explained for what felt like the thousandth time. "By morning these woods will be crawling with Vikings. It's best we do this now." **[3]** Truthfully, they were lucky that the village had called off the search until morning in the first place. It gave them a much needed time advantage. Fishlegs made a whimpering sound in protest and Hiccup sighed, "You know you don't have to stay, Fishlegs. If you want to go home I won't hold it against you."

Fishlegs glanced around to make sure that the other three were not listening to their conversation before continuing. "No, no, I know. It's just…these woods are really creepy at night." He admitted quietly.

And there is was.

Hiccup reached out and grasped his friend's shoulder with a grateful smile. "I know, so thank you for coming out anyways. I really do appreciate it."

"Well, I am kind of curious about Toothless." Fishlegs turned Hiccup's smile with a sheepish one of his own. "You said he has retractable teeth?"

"Yes he does. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Very cool."

The two fell quiet after that and resumed their silent searching. The night drew on and before they knew it, the moon and the stars bathed the forest in cold light. The brightness of the moon made it much easier to navigate, but Hiccup still kept his torch lit. Snotlout was carrying the other, as Hiccup did not trust either of the twins with it. He hoped that the fire would come in handy when they finally found Toothless. He would have brought the prototype of his flaming sword for himself to use instead of a torch but unfortunately, it had been damaged in the arena that morning and no longer caught a spark.

"Hey Hiccup, there's a cove up ahead that we should probably check out." Snotlout called back suddenly, breaking the redheaded Viking from his thoughts of how to redesign his fire sword. "Tuffnut swears he sees something moving around down there."

Tuffnut nodded animatedly, his dreadlocks bouncing with the quick movement. "It was black and pretty big, definitely some kind of dragon."

"There is no way you can see that far." Ruffnut interjected, shoving her twin slightly. "I think you're just seeing things."

"You're just jealous that my eyesight is better than yours." Tuffnut shrugged.

Ruffnut growled.

"Knock it off guys." Hiccup said, quickly coming to stand in between the arguing twins. He really did not have the patience to deal with their bickering tonight. They had more important things to be dealing with. The cove was a ways off but he could make out a small stream and a thick section of trees occupying the space. It would actually be a good place for a dragon to hide while still being close to a food and water source. "Regardless if there is anything down there, I still think it's worth checking out."

"Right, we just have to figure out how to get down there." Fishlegs pointed out.

Finding a suitable entrance down into the cove proved to be much more challenging than they anticipated. The cove was surrounded by rocky ledges. Climbing down into the cove would not be too much of a challenge, but they would have to be extra careful climbing back out of it. They descended the rock face one by one—Hiccup going first, followed by Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and finally Fishlegs. When they all made it into the cove in one piece, they looked around and found nothing. The cove was seemingly empty.

"Told you there was nothing here." Ruffnut drawled. "He's getting more senile with age."

"Maybe it decided to take a nap." Snotlout suggested.

Fishlegs frowned, "Night Furies are supposed to be nocturnal creatures."

"Noc-what?"

"Nevermind."

Hiccup breathed out heavily through his nose and turned to Tuffnut, "So where was it when you first saw it?"

The blond pointed to the thicket of dense trees. "When I first saw it, it was around the water. But when we started getting closer, I think it ran into the trees."

"So it knows we're here?" Fishlegs whispered, sounding slightly worried.

Hiccup nodded, "Whatever it is, it definitely knows we are here."

As if to prove a point, a low growl came from the trees. Fishlegs whimpered again and even the others appeared startled by the sound. The foliage and branches were so thick that the light of the moon and stars could not penetrate the thicket, leaving the creature in a sea of inky blackness. It was the perfect place for a dragon to hide—especially a Night Fury.

"Hey Toooothless?" Hiccup called, slowly approaching the thicket with raised hands. Luckily, the other teens were smart enough to let him take the lead while they remained a good distance away. "Toothless, bud, is that you in there? It's me, Hiccup. You can come out. No one here is going to hurt you, I promise."

Another growl, this time louder.

Hiccup faltered. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry about this morning. Okay bud? I never meant for any of that to happen. I just wanted everyone to see how amazing you are. I wanted them to see that dragons are not dangerous. Unfortunately, that backfired on me and if it was not for Astrid—" A croon resounded at the mention of her name and Hiccup cracked a grin. It was not some strange animal in the bushes. They had indeed found Toothless. "Yeah, Astrid. You like her. She's not here right now, she had to go…away. So I brought some other friends with me instead. They would really like to meet you."

"We do?" Snotlout muttered under his breath, sounding frightened now that the _unholy offspring of lightening and death_ was so close.

Hiccup turned and shot him a quick glare before turning back to the bushes. "It's okay to come out, Toothless. I promise, nothing will happen to you. I swear it."

He waited with baited breath as a dark form began to shift out of the shadows. Finally, a pair of bright citrine eyes locked onto his and Hiccup held out his hand for the wary dragon to sniff at. Toothless' black nose wrinkled as he came forward and to Hiccup's relief, after a few quick sniffs the Night Fury began to purr. Hiccup pressed a hand to Toothless' snout and grinned. But that smile was abruptly wiped from his face as Toothless pounced on him without warning. For a brief second, Hiccup was brought back to that terrifying moment in the Ring that morning when he thought that Toothless was going to kill him. Toothless however had other, more peaceful things in mind. Instead of swiping Hiccup with his claws, he began licking the young man thoroughly, drenching him in wet, sticky saliva.

"Ew, Toothless!" Hiccup cried with a laugh. "This is never going to wash out!"

"That's disgusting. Does he always do that?" Ruffnut asked.

"Nope—first time." He wheezed out from under the Night Fury's massive body.

"I-I would offer to help, but I don't really know what to do." Fishlegs stuttered awkwardly, still not entirely comfortable with being in the presence of a dragon—even though Toothless was acting like more of a house cat than a fire-breathing dragon at the moment.

It took several minutes of coaxing before Hiccup was able to wiggle out from under his dragon but once he was free, he began the introductions between his friends and Toothless. Unsurprisingly, Ruffnut was the first one to step forward to meet the Night Fury and took to him instantly. Toothless seemed to like her as well, if his crooning and lolling tongue meant anything. Hiccup assumed that Ruffnut reminded the dragon of Astrid, but he tried to push that painful thought aside for the time being. Tuffnut went next and his introduction too went smoothly. Toothless playfully nipped at the male twin's braids and gave him a thorough lick on the chest. Hiccup shuddered to think of what _that_ tasted like but Toothless seemed to like it. Fishlegs shook like a leaf throughout his introduction but eventually, his curiosity over seeing a new dragon species won out and before long, he was examining Toothless' gums with barely contained excitement.

And then, it was Snotlout's turn.

"I don't think he likes you very much." Tuffnut cackled.

"Why is it snarling at me?" Snotlout demanded, cringing away from the dragon as Hiccup desperately tried to pull Toothless back. "He didn't do that to anyone else!"

Hiccup scrambled for an explanation—then it hit him. "I think he remembers you from the night he was shot down. He actually did the same thing to me when Astrid first introduced us." He offered.

"But I didn't do anything!" Snotlout whined.

Hiccup ignored him and focused solely on Toothless. "Hey bud, you're alright. Snot isn't going to hurt you. He just wants to say 'hi'." At his words, Toothless calmed slightly but remained on guard as Hiccup motioned for Snotlout to come forward.

"No way! That dragon has got it out for me!" The brunet protested.

Behind him, Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a baby!"

Her criticism snapped Snotlout into action. "I'm not a baby!" He stomped forward and thrust his hand out for Toothless to sniff, just as the others had done. Hiccup suppressed a chuckle at the expense of his cousin and shot Ruffnut a knowing smile. She returned his smile with a grin of her own and leaned casually against Fishlegs' side.

"Worked like a charm." She teased, which fortunately went unheard by Snotlout.

Toothless shuffled against his side, bringing Hiccup's attention back to the interaction at hand. A nervous sweat had broken out on Snotlout's brow, but Hiccup had to give him credit for his ability to keep the fear from his face. There was nothing else to do but wait patiently as Toothless considered Snotlout's offered hand for several minutes, significantly longer than he had with anyone else's. They all let out a communal sigh of relief when Toothless finally deemed Snotlout unthreatening and lowered himself down from his haunches. Snotlout let out a nervous laugh and began to hesitantly stroke the Night Fury's scales. After a while, the others joined him and Toothless was soon rolling around on the ground while being pampered by five Vikings. He just did not know what to do with himself. Hiccup could not suppress his smile as he watched his friends interact with Toothless.

"I just can't believe how relaxed he is!" Fishlegs marveled. "Who would have thought that all it took to appease a Night Fury is a few chin scratches."

"He sure is something, isn't he?" Ruffnut agreed.

Snotlout shrugged, trying to appear unaffected. "I guess."

Tuffnut frowned and crossed his arms over his chest like a petulant child. "This isn't fair. Why does Hiccup always get all the cool stuff? Why can't _I_ have a dragon?!"

"Yeah Hiccup," Snotlout seconded, causing Hiccup to raise an eyebrow at his abrupt change of heart. "Why can't we have dragons too?"

Before he could reply, Ruffnut chimed in as well, "It would be pretty cool, just think of how much stuff we could blow up!" Tuffnut nodded and rubbed his hands together, clearly plotting something destructive in nature.

"Ahhh, I don't think—" Hiccup started to protest but then cut himself off. After all, why couldn't the others have dragon companions of their own? They had already done something stupid, like going after a Night Fury at night. Why not do something a little crazy? He had made a promise to look after the arena dragons in Astrid's absence, after all. Now, with the help of his friends, he would make due of that promise. "Actually, I think you guys might be on to something." He began.

"I can have my own dragon?!" Tuffnut cheered, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. "Yeah! This is gonna be so good!"

But Hiccup was already too lost in his wild plans to offer a proper response.

This could change _everything_.

—

 **[1] When Hiccup says that news of Astrid's banishment has no doubt spread through the village, he is not aware of the fact that Stoick promised to keep that a secret. Astrid never told him otherwise so he assumes that the news will be made public. Ironically, it is Hiccup himself who lets the cat out of the bag (so to speak) when he tells Ruffnut that she's been banished. Oops.**

 **[2]** **If you want a visual comparison to the island, I would best compare it to the Death Song's island as seen on** _ **Race to the Edge**_ **season one, episode three:** _ **Imperfect Harmony**_ **. I based the beach upon the one that the Rider's stay on the first night they are on that island. However, I did have to take a few artistic liberties and add a few cliffs here and there to give Astrid and Stormfly some suitable shelter.**

 **[3]** **There is a LOTR reference from** _ **The Fellowship of the Ring**_ **for those of you eagle-eyed folks. I just switched things up a bit but I still giggle every time I come across it.**

—

 **Surprise!**

 **I hope that this chapter makes up for the feels-fest that chapter thirteen was and the fact that this chapter was a bit late in its release. It needed a bit more love before it was ready for posting. Even worse, I had to upload this from my phone (which is hardly ideal cause I've never had to do that before) so if there are some screwed up formatting errors these next couple days, that's why.**

 **So this is our first time hearing from Hiccup. Yay! As of right now, it will be the only time we will have both Hiccup and Astrid's perspectives in the same chapter, but we will have a completely Hiccup-centric chapter** _ **one**_ **more time in this story. Are you guys pumped for that?! It's still a ways away, but I have some awesome stuff planned for that chapter. :D In the meantime, let me know what you think of the unique duel perspective we saw in this chapter. It was extremely hard to get inside Hiccup's head, he's a complex guy. I think that's why I prefer writing from Astrid's perspective. She's complex as well, but in a different way.**

 **And here is where things get** _ **really**_ **hairy. Hiccup and Astrid are officially going their opposite ways for now. They will meet up again soon but in the meantime, Astrid is going on her own little adventure and Hiccup has a lot to contemplate. They both have some growing up to do before they meet again. Next couple chapters will contain** **time skips** **. Hiccup is going to grow into his own as the "Dragon Master" (as Ruff so affectionately called him) with the teens at his side, I think that much can be seen from the end of this chapter. As for Astrid…well, next chapter we will see how she is faring on the island. Eventually, she will meet some familiar characters—any guesses who they might be?**

 **Also, I had a few readers express fear of a future a love triangle during Astrid's time away from Berk, so let me put an end to those fears ladies and gents! There will be absolutely no dramatic Twilight-esque (** _ **shudder**_ **) love triangles in this story! Remember, I am a sucker for a good romance so I can promise you that Hiccup and Astrid will remain very much in love with to each other in this AU, no matter the time or distance. *cue cliché sigh***

 **As always, I want to thank every single reader who reviewed for the last chapter and gave such encouraging words. I was extremely nervous about the reception I could have received for the last chapter so it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know that there are so many people who are excited to see the story going in this new direction. I also want to give a shout-out to all those who have favorited, followed, and/or are the lurking unknown on this story that I have not heard from or spoken to. You guys are awesome too!**

 **Until next time, leave me your thoughts folks :)**

— **Mari**


	15. Chapter 15

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

The measure of time becomes inconsequential when one's life no longer has a distinct purpose aside from survival.

It could have been weeks, possibly many full moons that passed since her departure from Berk. Astrid had lost count long ago. After all, it truly did not matter anymore. She knew it was nearing _sumar_ , the explosion of blossoming vegetation on the island told her that much **[1]**. It was finally starting to get warmer. The nights no longer held the same bitter chill that they had when she and Stormfly first set up their permanent campsite. Instead of leaving the island after the very first night as she originally expected, Astrid and Stormfly ended up staying there for much longer. Truthfully, Astrid had her Nadder to thank on that decision. Astrid herself had wanted to move on, but Stormfly seemed reluctant to leave so quickly. As Stormfly was her only source of getting off the island, Astrid had no choice but to stay. At first, she was did not understand why the dragon was so reluctant to leave, but she was soon found that it was a good thing that she listened.

In the end, there was no need to go anywhere else.

The tiny island ended up having much more to offer than Astrid initially thought. The further inland that one traveled, the thicker the vegetation became. There were all kinds of herbs and berries that were suitable for consumption. The ocean offered an endless amount of fish for Stormfly and as there were not any large predators on the island, aside from the Nadder herself, there was no shortage on small mammals for Astrid to hunt, especially rabbits. At the very center of the island was a lake that provided a fresh water source suitable for both drinking water and for bathing. The less frigid temperatures of the south meant that the ice that froze over the lake that _vintr_ was not nearly as thick as on Berk. Stormfly was easily able to break through it during the times that it did get cold enough to the entire lake to freeze over. Having these natural resources available meant that Astrid was able to ration out most of the supplies that Hiccup had packed for her. She knew her basic survival tricks and the rest, she relied on pure instinct and Stormfly's mothering.

By day, she and Stormfly explored the small island and by night, they continued to take shelter in the tiny cave near the shore. Eventually, Astrid grew used to falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing up against the shore at night and waking up to the smell of salty seafoam. The island did not have the comfort of Berk by any means, but it was…habitable.

Just like Berk, the lands past the known borders of the Barbaric Archipelago did not take kindly to dragons. While the southern islands were not necessarily at war with the creatures like on Berk, they were considered a wild nuisance. Astrid and Stormfly had nearly found that out the hard way. In one case, they were chased out of a village by a mob and were lucky that they were not killed. Needless to say, they did not return to that village ever again. As Astrid was not about to leave Stormfly to fend for herself, she found herself avoiding human contact as much as possible after that incident.

She had been correct in her assessment that it would be all but impossible to re-immerse herself into society. Hiccup had snuck her a decent sum of coins, but Astrid felt guilty using it. It was not rightfully hers to spend. Yet, she had no way to earn any additional source of income aside from hunting larger animals for their furs on other islands. Thus, she only spent what she had to and traded in her furs for what she could. She quickly found that most villages were not as friendly, nor as safe as Berk. The outside world was filled with all sorts of seedy folk. Every time she was in a new village, she had to be on her guard. Men would attempt to swindle her out of what little coin she had just because she was a woman. She was not naïve enough to trust strangers, not matter what they offered her. She was an outcast and if anyone found out who she was or what she had done, it would spell trouble for her. Thus, she conducted her business and then went on her way, nothing more.

It was a lonely existence but with Stormfly at her side, she was surviving.

Yet not a day passed that she did not think of Berk, of how her mother and her friends were fairing in her absence. She missed Ruffnut. Often she wondered if she and Fishlegs had been able to finally marry in her absence, she hoped it to be so. Although Snotlout had more political standing, Fishlegs would do everything in his power to insure that her best friend was happy and well looked after. She missed her mother, even though she technically had no claim to being Herleva Hofferson's daughter any longer. Part of her was infuriated at her mother for abandoning her but at the same time, she was overcome with guilt for having such anger. Her mother had every right to disown her as she had. Her mother's parting words echoed in her mind much more than she cared to admit. As such, she tried not to dwell on that too often. It was better to think of the others, her friends, no matter how painful it was. She missed Hiccup; the furs he had given her had long since lost his scent.

Gods, how she missed him.

His twentieth birthday had long passed and as _sumar_ was approaching, that meant her own nineteenth birthday had as well. She would miss the _sumar_ feast. Had she still been on Berk, she would have finally been able to go with Hiccup again. Perhaps they would have even already been married.

She had once thought that there was nothing she wanted more than the restoration of her honor and the respect of her village, but now when everything had been taken from her, she found that there was something that she wanted more. Something that was far more precious. How could she have ever thought that it would be better to stay away from Hiccup altogether than to entertain a hopeless dream? It was the furthest thing from the truth. Although their whirlwind romance had been cut short—equating to less than a few weeks' time spent together before they were abruptly separated—she was thankful for every moment she had been able to spend with him. It was the memories she had with him, the love she had seen in his eyes, the thought of his hands upon her, and the bruising kisses he had bestowed her that kept her going when things seemed impossible. It made her resolved to stay alive, to rise above whatever life threw at her, if only to return to him and her friends again someday.

And then one day, completely out of the blue, hope of his wellbeing came in the form of a magenta and teal colored Terrible Terror. The creature was not shy. It snuck right into the campsite one night and made itself comfortable near the fire before Astrid had even realized it. One minute the spot was empty and then the next, a Terrible Terror had appeared. At first, Astrid was too stunned to do anything. The tiny dragon's sudden appearance was strange because up until that point, Astrid had not seen another dragon aside from her Deadly Nadder on the island. Stormfly made a fuss and immediately tried to run the smaller dragon off for encroaching on her territory, but stopped when Astrid abruptly threw herself in between the two dragons. It took her a few minutes, but Astrid realized that she _knew_ the dragon.

It was the Terrible Terror from dragon training.

She had no idea how he had managed to let the dragon escape or how the Terrible Terror had managed to find her, but its appearance could only mean one thing—Hiccup had respected her wishes and kept his promise. He was keeping the dragons safe, possibly going even as far as releasing all of them. Thus, she would keep her promise as well. One day, she would see his face again.

After its sudden appearance, the Terror decided to stay with Astrid. Soon it earned the name Sneaky, as he had a terrible habit of sneaking up on Astrid when she least expected it **[2]**. It took Stormfly some time to get used to Astrid's attentions not falling solely on her but eventually, the two dragons became resigned to the fact that Astrid cared for both of them and did not play favorites. She treated both dragons equally and once that was realized, the three lived in peace.

Once they had explored every nook and canny of their island home, the three unlikely companions eventually took to exploring other islands in secret. They usually did this exploration under the cover of nightfall, as Astrid was still wary about being around too many people. And it was on one such expedition that Astrid made a new friend under some rather unfortunate circumstances.

—

She hated coming to Port.

Unfortunately, it was the closest village to her island and thus it was the place that she was usually forced to go to when she was in dire need of supplies on short notice. It was also the place where her presence went most unnoticed. She was able to blend in. If the seafaring town had an official name, Astrid was not aware of it. She simply knew it at _Port_ for the fact that it was a port town. If one thought that Berk was uncivilized, Port was on a whole other level. Never had she seen a place of its equal. Half the docks were rotting away and the buildings were falling apart. Livestock were free to roam the village as they pleased. People drank excessively in the street. Brawls broke out on a whim. There was no governing law. It was dangerous, boisterous, and downright dirty—a town full of pillagers, outlaws, prostitutes, thieves, and drunkards. It was a barbarian's paradise. **[3]**

She pulled the hood of her stolen cloak down over her head to disguise her features as she walked along the rotting docks towards the marketplace. A bottle smashed against a building, missing her by mere inches, yet she paid it no mind. That was normal.

Today, she was in Port on the business of buying a new pair of boots. They did not have to be anything fancy, but the shoes that she had been wearing when she first left Berk were on their very last threads. They were literally about to fall apart. As much as she hated to spend the Haddock's coin on something other than food, she knew it was time.

As she pursued the market, a pair of dark brown leather lace-up boots caught her eye. They were very different from her traditional Berkian boots. They were more in the style favored by the southerners. Although still lined with fur, these were much more form fitting and would rise all the way to her calves. Astrid frowned, they were nice but the trader would likely charge three times more than the boots were worth. Much more than she was willing to spend. Then, a sly voice in the back of her head reminded that she did not _need_ to part with any coin to get a new pair of boots.

If anything, her visits to Port had toughened her up. She had found out early on that Port was not a safe place for women. Men typically mistook any person of the female gender for a prostitute, which she certainly was _not_. With her cloak, most people let her be. The glistening axe strapped to her back probably helped too, but that was beside the point. Astrid had stolen the cloak to disguise herself during one of her very first visits and never regretted the decision. Although morally wrong, it kept her safe and that was all that mattered. Besides, in a lawless town, no one batted an eyelash over a stolen woolen cloak, or a pair of boots for that matter…

" _Is it true then? The Berserker lad finally offed his father?_ "

Astrid's attention was torn from the boots she had been admiring at the mention of the familiar name and her eyes landed on two dangerous-looking mercenaries at the next stall over. Their conversation immediately caught her interest. She knew the term _Berserker_ quite well; they were one of Berk's allies after all. But this was the first time she had heard any mention of any of the islands within the Barbaric Archipelago during her exile. In fact, she had discovered early on that her new island home was several hours outside of what was considered the Barbaric Archipelago and many of the islands that she frequented had never even heard of the island of Berk, much less the Archipelago, which ultimately worked in her favor.

If these men knew of Berserk, then they were likely from the Archipelago. Yet their armor did not reflect any style of armor she had ever seen from any of the tribes. It was all very suspicious. With the intent to steal the leather boots all but forgotten, Astrid feigned interest in the stall that the two mercenaries were standing at. Luckily, the two men were so absorbed in their conversation, they mistook her as a commoner and paid her no mind.

"Aye, I received word of the assassination just two days past."

"I suppose he finally got tired of his father's peaceful ways."

The first mercenary scoffed, "The bastard goes by Dagur the Deranged now. He's pillaging the smaller islands for all that they've got to build up his armada."

Astrid choked back a gasp and was forced to walk away from the two armed men to avoid being caught. If they said anything more about Dagur and his raids, she did not want to stick around to hear it. She _knew_ the man that they spoke of—not well, but she knew of him. Dagur was the Berserker chief's son and if he murdered the father, then that meant that he was the tribe's chief now. She never had any contact with Dagur firsthand, but had heard plenty of stories of his mental instability. He was literally insane. She remembered that he had once tried to use Hiccup for target practice when they were children. That was enough to make her wary of him as a leader. Now to hear that he was pillaging islands, instilled fear in her heart.

Her own island would be safe, there was nothing of monetary value to raid. But, she could only hope that Berk was not on his list of villages to attack. Surely Dagur would not be stupid enough to attack an allied clan, especially one the size of Berk. She knew that she was likely overreacting, but as poor of shape as Berk was in thanks to the dragon raids, despite their size they likely would not survive an attack from the Berserkers.

Pushing down the unwarranted fear that was rising in her chest, Astrid went back to searching for a new pair of boots, as there was little else that she could do. After searching several stalls, she finally settled on a pair that were nearly identical to the pair that had first caught her eye. Apparently that was fashion on Port. She had never took much notice to the resident's footwear in the past as she was usually too busy making sure no one pickpocketed her. Astrid ended up doing the right thing and legally acquired her footwear instead of stealing them, but it was for a pretty price. She immediately discarded her old torn up boots and put on the new ones. They were even more comfortable than she imagined they would be. That alone almost made the price worth it.

 _Almost_.

It was nearly dusk and Astrid wanted to be gone before the sun set completely. To stay later was far too dangerous. So with her task complete, Astrid headed back towards the docks to meet up with Stormfly. As Port was a village that relied completely on the resources of the ocean, there was little need for dense forests. Most of the tree cover near the village had been cleared away for other use and as such, there was not many places for Stormfly to hide. The safest place for her to hide out during Astrid's visits was actually under the rotting docks. Because of their instability, they could not handle a lot of weight and were useless for loading cargo onto ships. As such they were rarely used, meaning there was less of a chance that someone would stumble upon the dragon hiding below them. Not that Stormfly really needed to hide. Port was one of the few places were Stormfly's presence would be somewhat acceptable. Most of its residents were too drunk to care if there was a dragon in their midst. As long as it was not attacking them, the villagers would probably laugh and think it was some kind of party trick. But, then again, she was not going to take any chances with Stormfly's life.

Once she met up with her dragon, Astrid quickly mounted Stormfly and the pair shot off into the sky before anyone could see them long enough to question it. A rogue dragon here or there was not entirely uncommon after all and as long as it was not attacking, no one would shoot at it. That was one of the main differences between Port and the other villages.

Their quick ascent whipped the hood of Astrid's cloak from her head, revealing her tightly bound golden locks. During her time in exile, she had taken to wearing her hair in a tight braid woven around her crown instead of a single loose braid that hung down her back **[4]**. It was a style normally only worn by married women on Berk, but it was much more practical when living in the wild. It did not come loose as often and stayed in place during flight. It did not snag on _every single branch_ in the forest. Not to mention, it stayed cleaner when worn in such a fashion. The ingredients to make soap were harder to come by here, much to her chagrin. Not to mention expensive. So, yes, it was just all around more practical. She tried not to think what it might have implied to those who knew of the northern tradition of marriage braids.

Once they leveled out in the upper cloud bank, Astrid hugged her legs around Stormfly's torso for balance and removed her cloak completely, shoving it in its place in her pack. She did not like wearing the cloak any more than what was necessary. The wool made it itchy.

As they flew back towards their island home, Astrid told Stormfly about her experience in the village and how pleased she was with her new boots despite their high price. The more time that Astrid spent away from civilization, the more she found herself speaking out loud to her dragon companions, even though she knew they could not verbally respond to her. She had discovered however, that they did respond to her in their own draconic way. Overtime she had caught on to certain sounds that she herself could mimic and use to communicate with Stormfly and Sneaky.

But midway through her tale, Stormfly began to chirp urgently. Astrid was instantly on alert and clicked her tongue in response, signaling that she understood her companion's distress tone. The Viking straightened her back and readied her axe, prepared to fight if she needed to. It did not take her long to spot what Stormfly had been warning her about. Off in the distance, a bright orange glow lit up the entire night sky. _Fire_. A massive one. It was far too large to be just an odd forest fire and based on a familiar landmark, Astrid knew that there was village was nearby. That could only mean one thing—a raid.

 _Dagur_.

Before she even thought about what she was about to do, Astrid pressed her heels into Stormfly's flank and clicked her tongue twice in succession. Stormfly retracted her wings and dove towards the inferno blazing before them to get a better look. Smoke began to assault her lungs as they closed in on the village, but Astrid encouraged Stormfly to press on. When she finally caught sight of burning village below them, her heart clenched in her chest. Stormfly came to a glide, hovering just above the village under the cover of smoke.

It was just as the mercenaries had said. The fire was completely out of control. Every single building in the village was ablaze. Berserkers were everywhere, far too many for her to risk revealing herself to help the villagers. People were screaming, crying, and holding on to whatever possessions they could before the hefty men came along and carelessly took it from them. She knew it had been a long shot, but she had still hoped she would have been able to do something, anything, to help. Coming from a place like Berk, she knew how devastating fire could be.

"We need to leave." She murmured lowly to her dragon. "There's nothing we can do."

Stormfly trilled sadly in reply but complied, leaving the village behind and began to fly back towards the open ocean. But as they were flying over the beach, Astrid caught sight of a strange object lying on the shoreline below. It was too large to be a piece of driftwood. Astrid signaled for Stormfly to fly lower and once she had a clear view of the beach below, the blonde gasped in horror. A woman lay half in, half out of the water and a group of Berserkers were closing in on her. Judging by the tangled black hair covering the figure's face and prone form, Astrid could only assume that the woman was unconscious.

"Grab her, Stormfly!" Astrid shouted, feeling compelled to interfere despite the danger.

She could not save the village, but she could save this woman's life. Astrid had heard horrible stories of what men could do to women prisoners. She was not about to let that happen.

With a warning screech, the Nadder dropped from the safety of the clouds and gently scooped up the unconscious woman from the water before the Berserkers could reach her. Astrid leaned down as far as she could go without falling off and took a closer look at the woman who was nestled gently within Stormfly's talons. She appeared to be around Astrid's age, if not slightly younger. It was unclear how long she had been in the water, but her clothes and hair were soaked through. Her skin was stark white and she had a huge gash on her forehead, likely the cause of her unconsciousness. Astrid knew that the wound would have to be looked at when they got back to their island and the woman would need to be treated for possible hypothermia as well.

The woman was still unconscious when they arrived back on the island an hour later. Stormfly softly dropped the woman down into the warm sand of the beach. As soon as Stormfly herself landed, Astrid jumped from her back and raced towards camp to grab what little medical supplies she had been able to scavenge and barter for. She returned moments later with every possible medical item that she could carry. Mixing a paste of healing herbs, Astrid carefully applied it to the woman's head wound. But despite the cleaning, the gasp continued to bleed. Sacrificing one of her own shirts, she tore the fabric into stripes to wrap the wound to staunch the bleeding.

"It's okay, you're okay. You're safe." The blonde murmured quietly as she worked.

The woman did not stir the entire time Astrid tended to her injuries. Luckily, there were not any onset signs of hypothermia. Perhaps the woman had not been in the water as long as she initially feared. Eventually, she did all that she possibly could. All she could do now was sit back and wait for the woman to wake up. After making sure the woman was properly wrapped in blankets, Astrid folded her knees up to her chest and rested her chin there, content to wait right there with the woman. A strange, unknown part of her felt protective over this stranger. The woman remained in her state throughout most of the night and at some point, Astrid herself could not keep her eyes open any longer.

She fell asleep.

—

She awoke hours later to the high mid-afternoon sun warming her face and the sound of rustling nearby. Months of living alone with just the companionship of two dragons had attuned Astrid's senses to the point that she would wake a moment's notice at the sound of something out of place. The rustling was much too quiet to be Stormfly and Sneaky had a horrid habit of making no sound at all. This was something different. It sounded like…footsteps. She peaked one eye open, only to see an unfamiliar boot aimed straight for her.

Rolling quickly onto her side, Astrid narrowly avoided a kick to the face from the very woman that she had rescued the night before. All tiredness left her body at once and worry set in. The woman must have mistaken her for a Berserker or some other sort of kidnapper. Although she commended the woman's bravery, Astrid was no Berserker. There was no need to fear her, or kick her in the face for that matter. She quickly sprung to her feet and held out her hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Wait! Please stop! I mean you no harm."

Her words made the woman pause long enough for Astrid to get a good look at the person that she rescued. Long dark hair framed a heart shaped face. Her eyes were a shocking shade of green. She was tall, nearly the same height as Astrid and possessed a similar build. Her clothing consisted of a wool gray tunic worn under a brown leather vest, a matching leather skirt, and charcoal colored leggings. Her boots were of a similar fashion to those found on Port. They were made of black leather, wrapped in rabbit's fur, and rose all the way up to the woman's knees. Despite her tired and haggard appearance, she was quite pretty. Yet something in her stance told Astrid that this was not a girl who was a pushover. This woman had a strength in her that Astrid herself envied.

"If you mean me no harm, then why have you kidnapped me?" The woman rasped out.

Astrid shook her head, "I did no such thing! I found you unconscious on a beach with a gash on your head. Had I not brought you here, you would've drowned in the tide."

Testing the sincerity of her words, the woman brought a hand to her forehead and felt the fabric that Astrid had wrapped around her head to stop the blood flow the night before. The woman relaxed, but only slightly. It seemed that she did not trust Astrid just yet. Once again, her distrust made Astrid respect her even more. The woman was not naïve. The blonde herself would have reacted in a similar way if their situations were reverse.

"Who are you?" The woman questioned, her eyes still watching Astrid with suspicion.

"My name is Astrid Ho— _Haddock_." The lie fell from her lips without warning. She could not bring herself to use the clan name that she had been disowned from and Haddock was the very next name that came to mind. If was probably not the wisest name to use, as Haddock was a chief's clan name but if the girl recognized the name, she did not comment.

"And where are we exactly? What tribe are you from?"

Astrid frowned, but told the truth this time. "I live on this island alone. I do not belong to any tribe, not anymore."

The woman opened her mouth, but then closed it just as abruptly. She seemed troubled by something. Astrid did not push, she recognized the look of pity on the woman's face. Little did the woman know, but she was now in much the same position. Astrid was not sure how she was going to break it to her that her tribe had been destroyed by Dagur's armada.

"Thank you Astrid, for saving my life. My name is Heather." She eventually said with a hesitant smile that Astrid soon returned. But the smile was soon wiped on her face. Astrid's eyes widened in surprise when she spotted Sneaky scurrying up Heather's leather skirt. Normally, she would not have been concerned about Sneaky's presence, he was a curious dragon after all, but she had no idea how Heather would react to him.

"Erm, Heather?" Astrid began awkwardly, the brunette raised a single brow in response. "Please don't panic but—"

Her warning was abruptly cut off by Heather's terrified screech when she finally noticed Sneaky perched atop her shoulder. When Heather began to frantically search the sand for something to fend off the Terrible Terror with, Astrid knew that she needed to do something. She whistled sharply and held out her arm. Sneaky responded to her call and quickly flew from Heather's shoulder to Astrid.

Once the dragon was a safe distance away from her, Heather eyed the Terrible Terror on Astrid's outstretched arm with barely concealed annoyance. "Blasted beast!" She spat.

"Sorry, sorry, he has a bad habit of sneaking up on people—even me." Astrid apologized with a sheepish grin. "We don't get many visitors on this island. He's just curious. It's been a while since he has seen another Viking."

If she were honest with herself, Astrid expected Heather to question her sanity for allowing a dragon to perch on her arm or to ask how she had become acquainted with said dragon, yet the brunette surprised her. "Exactly how long have you been on this island?" She asked, her head tilting in confusion.

Astrid shrugged, unsure of the exact amount of time that had passed. "Several months now. I'm not sure the exact number."

"Why? Where is your home?" The brunette pushed.

"Like I said, this is my home now. My old home is _gone_." Astrid responded testily, not wanting to give too much away to a stranger.

Sensing that Astrid was uncomfortable with her prying, Heather changed to subject and inquired as to what exactly happened the night before. "I remember fire. I remember someone screaming my name, my mother perhaps? Then I remember the sound of the ocean waves, cold, and then all of a sudden, everything goes black. I can't remember anything else. You were there, apparently. Do you know what happened?"

Astrid sighed heavily at the question.

"Why do I feel as though I'm not going to like the answer you give me?" Heather asked fearfully.

This was the part that Astrid had been dreading, when she had to tell Heather that her home was gone. Although she wanted to break the news as gently as possible, she would not withhold the truth. The village was beyond hope when Astrid had arrived and the Berserkers were not leaving survivors. It was completely lost. There would be nothing for Heather to return home to. She began her tale with telling Heather what she had overheard about Dagur and his armada at Port the day before from the two mercenaries and then how she came upon Heather's burning village on her way back to her island. Heather had never heard of Dagur or Berserk, confirming Astrid's earlier suspicion. For the time being she left out Stormfly's involvement in bringing Heather to their island. It was just as well. The woman was so overwhelmed with her loss that she did not question _how_ exactly Astrid had saved her.

When Astrid had told all that she had to tell, Heather sat back down onto the sand with a stifled sob. Astrid awkwardly remained standing and watched as the brunette struggled to hold herself together. For so long she had been without human companionship, she did not know what to do with herself as Heather cried. Did she attempt to comfort a stranger? Eventually, Astrid sunk down onto the sand with the broken woman and placed a comforting hand upon her back. Nothing too close, but a kind enough gesture to let Heather know that she sympathized. An unmeasurable amount of time passed as Heather struggled to come to terms with what she learned about her home, but Astrid waited patiently.

"How have we never heard of this madman before?" Heather finally asked, her voice thick and nasally from all the tears.

Astrid grimaced, "Dagur and his Berserkers live on a remote island in the far north. It does not surprise me that you've never heard of it." Heather opened her mouth, no doubt to ask how she came by this information, but Astrid cut her off before she could get the words out. "Dagur is— _insane_." She blurted out for lack of a better word. "He only cares about two things, money and the power over others. It's likely that your village was targeted at random. He knows better than to raid the other northern isles because they are his allies, so he had to turn to the south. At least that's what the mercenaries said— _it's not like I know him firsthand_." The last part was said under her breath so Heather could not hear.

"What am I going to do?" The brunette moaned.

On a complete and total whim, Astrid decided to give the girl a chance.

"Well, the way I see it, you have two options. One, I will take you to Port where you can fend for yourself or two, you can stay with me and my dragons on the island until you find something better." She offered while affectionately petting Sneaky's head.

The rational part of her being screamed that it was ridiculous to invite a complete stranger to live with her on the island. She knew nothing about Heather. For all she knew, she could be as crazy as Dagur. Yet something about Heather's situation made her feel obligated to help. Heather had no money, no connections, nothing. She was in just about the same place Astrid herself had been when she left Berk.

Heather's jaw dropped, " _Dragons_? You mean there are more on this island?"

"Just one more, a Deadly Nadder." Astrid supplied.

Her stomach dropped when Heather shook her head and scooted away from Astrid in disbelief. A memory forced its way to the surface, a similar reaction someone else had. _Hiccup did not yell. He did not scream or call her a traitor. He did nothing but shake his head, regarding her with bitter disappointment._ Her heart thudded dangerously in her chest at the memory of his cold words that day. But things had changed. He had changed. And for a short time, everything had turned out for the better. If only she could get Heather to listen to her— _preferably without an impromptu kidnapping that resulted in dropping the girl from thousands of feet from the sky_. Dragons were not viewed with _as_ much contempt in the rest of the world as they were on Berk, so surely it would not be hard to convince the girl of that. Once she actually met Stormfly, she would see.

"Listen, I know it sounds—crazy, mental, possibly even insane—but dragons are not what you think they are." Astrid pressed when Heather continued to stare at her in disbelief. Sneaky curled protectively around her shoulder as if to prove the point further. "Just like humans, I believe there are the good and the evil. Not all are bad. Stormfly and Sneaky have become my family. They would never do anything to cause harm to you, I swear it. If you stay here, I'll teach you about dragons. Once you earn their trust, there's nothing one will not do for you."

Heather was quiet for several moments as she mulled over Astrid's argument. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice in the matter." She eventually scoffed. "Going to Port is…out of the question, but please give me at least the night to make sure of my answer. It's a lot to take in."

In the end, Astrid could ask no more of her. There was little more she could say in her dragons' defense. Heather would have to think it over and hopefully, learn the truth for herself.

After attending to the other woman's wounds and bringing her some berries and fish jerky to eat, Astrid returned to her camp for the evening. Heather would sleep alone on the beach, as was the brunette's wish. Once settled in at her camp, Astrid cooked herself a modest meal of rabbit stew and then curled up by the fire to clean her weapons, just as she did every night. It had become almost a compulsive habit to insure that they were in perfect condition before she went to sleep. The rest of the evening was spent as per normal with Stormfly and Sneaky to keep her company. Eventually, her lack of proper sleep the night before caught up with her and she dozed off while leaning against Stormfly's flank.

It was not until several hours later that Stormfly's urgent clicking awoke her. As her eyelashes fluttered open, she saw Heather's hesitant form standing just outside the boundaries of her camp. The woman eyed the large Deadly Nadder nervously, seemingly wary of entering the camp without invitation. In her hand, she held the spare furs that Astrid had loaned her to sleep with the night before. No doubt she had come to return them and give Astrid her answer. It was morning. The first signs of light were beginning to appear on the horizon behind her.

"Good morning," Astrid greeted in what she hoped was a cheerful manner as she stood and stretched her sore muscles. She had grown used to sleeping on the hard ground but the angle in which she had done so last night was not the most comfortable. "Did you sleep well on the beach last night?"

The brunette nodded, "Yes, thank you. I slept as well as what is to be expected."

"I'll be the first to admit that the ground and a pile of furs is no match for a comfortable bed, but you get used to it after a while." Astrid responded awkwardly with a shrug.

Heather grimaced as she looked around the space that Astrid called _home_ and the two fell into a tense silence. Astrid wrung her hands together and stared down at her feet, unsure how to proceed. Many months without prolonged contact with other people made her feel entirely too self-conscious. She was quite aware that her situation left little to be desired, but she did the best that she could with what she was given. She was thankful for all the island had provided for her over the course of her exile and made the most of those resources. It was more than she ever could have hoped for when she first left Berk. Though she did not have a proper roof over her head or the comfort of a bed, the cavern-like space nestled alongside the cliffs provided shelter from the wind, rain, and cold. She had plenty to eat and clean water to drink. Most importantly she was _free_ —free from the scorn of her village and free to be herself. And although that freedom came at the cost of losing contact with her family and friends, she was proud at how far she had gotten in life on her own. Truthfully, she had nothing to be ashamed of at least in that regard.

"I thought a lot about what you said yesterday." Heather started abruptly. Stormfly chirped curiously and the woman's green eyes locked on Stormfly's form as if she expected the Nadder to attack at any moment. "You called the Deadly Nadder and the Terrible Terror your family."

"They are."

"I have no family, not anymore. I don't mean to be too bold or to pry in saying this, but I imagine your situation is much the same." Astrid flinched as Heather's words hit close to home. She was more observant than she original gave her credit for. If she wanted to continue to keep her past a secret, she would have to guard her emotions even closer. But if Heather noticed Astrid's reaction, she did not call her out on it. Instead, she continued, "While I still find it crazy, your way of living with these dragons also intrigues me."

"Is this your way of telling me that you want to stay?"

When Heather nodded, Astrid could not stop the smile that tugged at her lips. Grateful for the other woman's company and excited to share her dragon knowledge with someone else, she resolved to get started—right after breakfast that is.

"You hungry?"

"Starving." Heather answered.

* * *

 **[1] Remember that the Old Norse calendar is split into two halves,** _ **sumar**_ **and** _ **vintr**_ **. So when Astrid says that** _ **sumar**_ **is close, it is our equivalent of spring. So yes, Astrid survived the winter. Since she decided to travel south, it was undoubtedly less severe than Berk's would have been. The choice of that path likely saved her life. At this point, she has been gone from Berk for approximately five to six months. So yeah, like I warned you all, a decent sized time skip here.**

 **[2] The reintroduction of Sneaky, the male Terrible Terror from dragon training in this AU and also the Terrible Terror that Astrid chooses in canon** _ **Defenders of Berk**_ **. He has now been officially named by Astrid. :D**

 **[3] Some of you may find this place somewhat familiar if you are fans of** _ **Pirates of the Caribbean**_ **. Port is basically the Viking version of Tortuga. I think you can all now imagine why Astrid is so disgusted to go there. Otherwise, the locations and islands referenced in this chapter are all the creation of my imagination and do not have any significance to canon or historical geography. If you really want to be technical, I've mentioned that Astrid and Stormfly flew south. When looking at Hiccup's map from HTTYD2 or the RTTE maps, Astrid's current location is beyond that—further south still—close to what I would consider the mainland but not quite.**

 **[4] If you want to see an example of Astrid's new hairstyle, I would look up "crown braid" or "fishtail crown braid" on Pinterest/Google/whatever browser you use. The full crown examples are essentially what I have based her hairstyle upon but traditional marriage braids** _ **could**_ **differ from my chosen style. Again, I've taken some slight artistic licensing here. I might try to draw something eventually, but I'm terrible at drawing realistic looking hair so looking at reference images is probably the better option.**

* * *

 **Enter Heather.**

 **Was it a surprise to see her? She and Astrid are going to be having some fun adventures in the next chapter or two. They are going to meet another canon character soon. Any guesses who? (** _ **It's actually**_ **not** _ **Dagur, I'll give you that much.**_ **) I'm anxious to see what you guys think of this turn of events and what you think is in store for these two lovely ladies in the future.**

 **This chapter was especially fun to write. Astrid's experience of living life on her own was partially inspired by what we now know (** _ **thanks to HTTYD2**_ **) happened to Hiccup's own mother. In a strange roundabout way, history is repeating itself. Two young lovers have been separated and when they eventually meet again, two conflicting worlds will clash. Of course Astrid's story of exile will be entirely different from Valka's. And I can also promise that Astrid will not stay away from Berk for twenty years. Astrid's (and by extension Heather's) future experiences are going to be determined by canon. Although this is an AU, I have expressed that I do want to stay true to the general storyline (as well as timeline) that the writers at Dreamworks have given us—specifically** _ **Race to the Edge**_ **in this case—but with some changes made to fit this AU. That being said, I will try my best to add a bit of** _ **Drengskapr**_ **flair to shake things up and keep the story interesting.**

 **And now for a shameless self-plug alert : **

**Since starting** _ **Drengskapr**_ **, I've had several users ask if I write original works aside from fanfiction. The answer is YES. In 2012, I began the huge endeavor of writing an original modern-fantasy series (Yes, it's really been** _ **that**_ **long. If** _ **Drengskapr**_ **is my baby then I don't have a word to describe what this original series is to me. I suppose it's my soul—we'll call it that.) Four years later, I am finally nearing the competition of the first book in the series currently titled:** _ **Ariadne Caldwell and the Mirror of Aspectus**_ **, which can be read as a standalone or continued into a series, if I ever get that far. I don't know if I will ever self-publish it but I have started posting it onto Fictionpress to get some feedback on my personal writing. I won't burden you with a bunch of info on it but the summary is as follows: "** _ **The sighting of a strange figure in the woods and the return of her estranged brother sets a series of strange events in motion for twenty-year-old Ariadne Caldwell. She is unexpectedly thrust into an enigmatic world that quickly challenges her to overcome her fear of the supernatural. She can no longer run from her past—or her parents' past for that matter.**_ **" So yeah, it's completely unrelated to How to Train Your Dragon and** _ **Drengskapr**_ **but I hope some users are intrigued anyways. There is a link on my FF profile to my FP profile, but I have the same penname on both sites. Unless I get like, crazy responses, the updates for my original work will be slow as** _ **Drengskapr**_ **is obvious my main focus until it is finished.**

 **/shameless self-plug alert ended**

 **If you think you are interested in reading my original work, fantastic! I'd love to hear from you on Fictionpress. If not, ignore the paragraph above and just press the little button at the bottom to review for** _ **Drengskapr**_ **. Because like I said this fanfic is my primary focus :) Just a small heads up: chapter sixteen will be posted a little later than normal (more than the usual two weeks) because two weeks from today, I'm graduating from college! It's almost over –** _ **yikes**_ **! And I still have so much to do. Excuse me while I crawl under a large rock and die a slow, horrible procrastination death.**

— **Mari.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

And just like that, the _sumar_ months passed by.

Just as Astrid believed she would, Heather took just fine to Stormfly and Sneaky once she got over her initial fear. In fact, she grew to be just as natural when it came to interacting with them as Astrid herself after a while. Stormfly and Sneaky, for their part, took to the brunette as well. In just a few days' time, Heather went from sleeping alone on the beach to sleeping in the shallow cavern on her own designated pile of furs. Of course they were ones that remained from Astrid's trapping stint the previous _vintr_. It was beginning to grow a bit crowded in the small space what with two women, a Deadly Nadder, and a Terrible Terror all living there, but they made due.

Astrid for one was thankful for Heather's company. They got along quite well. Just because Heather was around did not mean that she stopped exploring the world beyond the archipelago. In fact, Heather had quite the influence on her. The brunette was very outgoing, adventurous, and a bit brazen. Heather brought out a wilder side in her that Astrid herself had not even known that she was capable of. Together, along with Stormfly, the two new companions ventured further and further out of familiar territory. The exploration suited Heather; she had a wandering and adventurous spirit. Additionally, Astrid did not miss the envious glances that the brunette shot her and Stormfly on occasion, they were very similar to the ones that Hiccup used to give her before he had bonded with Toothless. Riding alongside Astrid on Stormfly was fine for the moment, but the blonde knew that it would only be a matter of time before Heather would want a dragon of her own.

And so they spent their days alternating between going on expeditions to new islands and practicing combat. Heather was nothing if not a warrior. It turned out that an axe was her weapon of choice and after seeing Astrid's expertly crafted axe, the brunette offered to help Astrid improve on her axe-play. Heather was patient, but also did not go easy on Astrid. Their spars were much more intense than the one measly one that Astrid had had with Ruffnut. With the other girl's guidance, Astrid improved remarkably on her fighting techniques. Her self-confidence developed just as much as her axe-play did.

In the end, it was nice to have a female to talk to again, but it made her long for Ruffnut's companionship even more than before. Heather was a great friend, like a sister even, but the brunette would never replace her first female best friend. For all that they shared with one another, Astrid never told Heather of her life on Berk before her exile. As far as Heather knew, Astrid's name was Astrid Haddock and the brunette had no idea what her life had been like prior to coming to the island.

"Hey, what about this one?"

Astrid grimaced as she looked at the tunic that Heather was suggesting. "Absolutely not!" She cried.

It was a sleeveless blue brocade with delicate gold stitching. The very idea of her wearing such a garment was absurd. Sure, it was pretty, but Astrid was not interested in looking pretty. Firstly, a fabric as delicate as a brocade would scarcely survive a month with their current lifestyle. Secondly, she was not trying to impress anyone by wearing something so flashy and attract unnecessary attention to herself. It was a waste of precious coin to consider buying such an item.

"Why not?" Heather replied with a smirk as she tossed the tunic back on the table carelessly. The stall owner sent her a glare and immediately rearranged the shirt on his table. "I think it would look perfect on you. It'd bring out the blue in your eyes." She teased.

"My eyes are already blue enough." Astrid said shortly as she moved on to the next clothing stall before the merchant could get a word in. Heather snickered and followed after her friend, obviously used to Astrid's occasional blunt mannerisms after living with her for several months.

Just like her boots had been at the beginning of _sumar_ , the hand-me-downs that Astrid had received before starting dragon training were quickly reaching the point where repairs only held for a few short days before there was a new tear in them that needed to be fixed. It was getting to be ridiculous. So when Heather suggested that they shop for some new furs to get them through the approaching _vintr_ months, Astrid agreed that a trip to the markets was in order. The past _vintr_ had been harsh enough in her old clothes. If it had not been for the animal pelts she collected or the woolen cloak she had stolen, she likely would have been missing a couple fingers or toes. The old animal pelts not used for bedding now had a new purpose, trading goods to pay for her new clothing and supplies.

Unfortunately, Port was not the best place to shop for practical clothing. The clothing traders catered to a more eccentric cliental, if the brocade tunic was any indication. If Astrid had it her way, she would have gone to a different village market on a completely different island, but Heather had insisted that they go to Port and once she got an idea stuck in her head, there was no talking her out of it. Her reasoning was that it was the closest village to their island and they were more familiar with the markets, but Astrid knew that her friend had an entirely different reason for wanting to go to Port.

 _Dagur_.

What better place to gain information on the deranged Berserker chief's whereabouts than a village filled with pillagers, outlaws, and thieves? If there was any chance of finding someone with details on his whereabouts and doings, it was on Port. It was where Astrid had first heard word of his reign of terror after all.

It was still difficult for Heather to come to terms with what had become of her village and her family, as was her every right. But it was not her grief that worried Astrid; rather it was her call for vengeance. Heather harbored an intense grudge against Dagur for destroying her village and vowed that one day, she would incite revenge against him. Her friend's thirst for revenge made Astrid extremely nervous, as she certainly did not want either of them to get involved in Dagur's affairs. He was a madman.

"This is boring. I think I'm going to take a walk around, see what kind of gossip I can catch up on." Heather announced, simultaneously breaking Astrid from her thoughts and also confirming her suspicions.

"Be careful." Astrid replied with a short nod, knowing that nothing she could say would stop her friend.

Heather slid her own cloak's hood up to cover her raven hair and said, "I always am!" She waved goodbye to her blonde companion with another mischievous smirk playing on her lips before disappearing into the crowds of the marketplace.

Once she was gone, Astrid turned back to the task at hand—finding new clothes. She needed something that was practical and durable, but also still had a bit of a Viking flare. Unfortunately, that was something that most of the clothes on Port lacked. After perusing a few more stalls, she eventually settled on a few rabbit fur lined brown leather skirts and some heavy woolen tights and tunics. She even purchased a form fitting leather cloak that would come in handy during the _vintr_ months. The skirts lacked the spikes common on Berkian clothing and most of the woolen clothing would be a bit warm for the _sumar_ months, but she reasoned that she could fashion her own spikes from Stormfly's quills and she also knew from experience just how quickly the weather could turn.

With her new purchases in hand, she was about to leave the market and go off in search of Heather when she saw a man holding up an unusual article of clothing to examine it. It immediately grabbed her attention. It was a leather hood sewn onto a matching woolen scarf. The neckpiece settled around the shoulders to be worn under a set of pauldrons and would not only cover the wearer's head, but the scarf could be pulled up to cover up the lower half of the face as well. Astrid immediately knew that it would be perfect for keeping her face warm while flying and could also serve to hide her identity if she needed to, just like her cloak. Without batting an eyelash at the hefty price tag, Astrid immediately bought two from the merchant—a dark blue one for herself and a black one for Heather.

She told herself it was a good investment.

"Whatcha got there?" The blonde Viking turned to find that Heather had returned. Instead of answering, she removed her cloak, unclipped her pauldrons, and slipped the hood scarf over her head to demonstrate. When she pulled the scarf portion up over her mouth, Heather gasped in realization, "That will be perfect for flying. I want one too!"

"I figured you'd say that." Astrid replied, as she handed Heather the second black hood. The brunette squealed in delight as she dawned hers as well. The hood worked quite well to conceal the wearer's face. All Astrid could see were two large green eyes peaking back at her. "So did you hear anything about _you-know-who_?" She asked in a change of subject.

"Not exactly," Heather began.

Astrid raised a singular eyebrow in question.

"Not here." Heather replied, looking around quickly. She grabbed onto Astrid's arm and pulled her into a more secluded area between two buildings. Once she was sure that they would not be overhead, she began to speak. "I heard some of the merchants talking about a new trader that has a ship down at the docks that he trades from. He's not a popular fellow amongst the Port traders. Not only does he tell outlandish and long-winded stories, but he also fetches fairer prices. He's stealing a lot of the local trader's business."

"I don't see why that is much of a concern to you."

Heather rolled her eyes, "I wasn't finished. This trader is quite familiar with Dagur from the sound of things! He trades often with him and his Berserkers." Astrid's mouth dropped open into a small 'o' shape. Heather continued on, ignoring Astrid's shock. "I want to speak with him, will you come with me?"

Astrid's initial thought was to decline, she really did not want to get involved more than she had to, but she also was not about to let Heather go meet with some strange man all by herself. They had no way of knowing what this trader was really like. If he worked with Dagur and the Berserkers, there was no way he could be good. Although she knew that Heather was more experienced in combat than she was and could handle herself, two axes were better than one. Thus, she nodded her consent and hold Heather to lead the way.

She followed closely as Heather led her through the crowded, rowdy streets of Port toward the rotting docks. On several occasions they had to duck to avoid a thrown object or stop to avoid a brawl that had abruptly broken out. Astrid grimaced. She really, really hated Port. But at least the village taught her to constantly be aware of her surroundings.

"There it is, just ahead." Heather announced.

The docks creaked despite their light footsteps as they made their way towards a modest ship with only two sails. As they drew nearer, Astrid slowed her pace as dread pooled into the pit of her stomach. The ship looked _awfully_ familiar. Heather, completely unaware of Astrid's reservation, crossed the gangplank and boarded the ship. When Astrid boarded the ship herself moments later, she was very glad that she had invested in the hood scarf and was already wearing it.

She knew the trader.

 _Trader Johann_.

While Johann was engaged with another customer and Heather was poking around a box filled with maces, Astrid took a minute to study the man. In the year since she had last seen him, he had not changed much at all. He was still a short, thin man with a long, hallow face, a groomed beard, and beady brown eyes to match. He still wore eccentric and flashy clothing that was not Viking-like in the least. In fact, Astrid now thought it to be very similar in fashion to the brocade fabric that Heather had tried to thrust upon her earlier.

When it seemed as though most of Berk had been against her, Johann was one of the few people who had treated her with kindness after her father's death. She respected him for that. At the very least, she was glad to see him alive and well. But at the same time, she was terrified that he would recognize her. She was still in her mother's hand-me-downs. The style was the definitely that of Berk. Surely he could not be that ignorant. What would he say if he figured it out?

Even after living with her for many months, Astrid was not yet ready to have Heather know _all_ her secrets. At first, she had kept her identity and past a secret from Heather out of pure necessity. She did not want to give away too much to a stranger after all. But the longer she kept everything hidden, the harder it was to get the truth out. She was too ashamed. She knew that Heather would understand the circumstances of her banishment but at the same time, it was nice to know that she was _not_ an outcast in Heather's eyes. To Heather, she was just some crazy dragon-lady who had made her home on an island and had a pretty badass axe. It was nice to be acquainted with someone who did know how she was treated before and how she was shamed into living in her current conditions.

At that moment, Trader Johann finished his transaction with the other customer and turned to the two obviously armed and hooded women that had boarded his boat. Astrid quickly averted her eyes so that he did not catch her staring and pretended that she was interested in the pile of metal that Heather was currently rummaging through. After a moments pause, he began to slowly approach them with a wary look on his face. Astrid discreetly kicked Heather's boot, wordlessly telling the brunette that since _she_ was the one who had wanted to come aboard so badly, _she_ was the one who would talk. Heather did not need to know that her true reason of wanting to remain silent was that she was afraid Johann would recognize her voice. Luckily, Heather was all too eager to talk now that she had the man's attention.

"And what can I help you ladies with this fine afternoon?" Johann began breezily, covering up his wariness with ease. "I see that you seem to be taking an interest in weapons. Perhaps you are in need of a new sword. Or maybe a hatchet?"

"I'm not sure what I'm after just yet." Heather replied cryptically as she held out her hand. She was too smart to get straight to what she really wanted. She had to gain Johann's trust first. "I see that you're not from around here, so let me introduce us. My name is Heather."

Unsurprisingly, he shook her hand with a wide smile, "A pleasure to meet you Miss Heather."

"And this is my friend, Astrid."

To Astrid's surprise, his smile faltered just so. But for his credit, he covered his shock well and held out his hand for her to shake. Other than a greeting similar to Heather's, he said nothing more to her. In fact, he seemed to avoid looking at her directly after that. He could not truly see her face, not with her hood and scarf, so perhaps he was just surprised by the familiar sounding name and she was worrying for nothing. When Johann turned back to continue speaking with her companion, Astrid let out a sigh of relief.

Her secret was still safe.

 _For now_.

Johann and Heather continue to chat for some time and the brunette even pretended to be interested in some of his wares. She listened politely as he told several outlandish stories of how he acquired said wares and Astrid had to give her immense credit for keeping a straight face. Astrid herself was doing everything possible not to burst out laughing. Johann was being typical Johann. Heather had no idea what she was in for if she wanted to make a contact out of the trader. He was the exact opposite of Heather, who tended to be exact and to the point more often than not.

Eventually, Heather began to slyly inquire as to how he got into the trading business and what islands he frequented. It was all Astrid could do not the flinch when he immediately mentioned Berk and the overwhelming hospitality of Stoick the Vast—but that was not the tribe that Heather was hoping for. He mentioned a few other islands in the Barbaric Archipelago, all ones that Astrid was familiar with, while Heather was not. But the moment Johann mentioned Berserk, the raven haired girl sunk her claws in.

"Ah, Berserk. I've never been there but I've heard of it. Hasn't their chief raided a few of our southern islands?" She asked seemingly offhand.

Johann's grin faded and he suddenly looked entirely uncomfortable. "Ah, yes. Yes, I believe that he has."

"Would you happen to be privy to information on where he might be attacking next?"

"I don't know what you are suggesting, Miss Heather." Johann barked back, sounding quite offended by the question. "I don't work with Dagur in that manner. I trade with his people, nothing more. I know nothing of his ambitions."

"That's not what I was suggesting at all. You misunderstand me, Trader Johann. I just thought that perhaps you might have overheard whisperings of his plans through your dealings with his people." She began, her eyes lowered to the planks of the deck in a coy manner. "You see, my home was one of the places that he raided and destroyed. I only want information to be sure that I stay clear of him in the future. It's not something I would like to experience twice."

It was a clever lie, Astrid had to give her that much.

Even better, Johann seemed to believe it.

"I am sorry to hear that Miss Heather, but I know nothing for certain."

"But you do know _something_."

His eyes darted around nervously, "Again, I know nothing for certain, but his armada may be sailing these waters again within the next month or so—if what I heard while on their island last week was correct anyway."

Heather nodded, "Thank you Trader Johann, I think that that information will prove to be most useful. Now, as for those knives I was looking at earlier…"

Astrid was just about to tune out the rest of their conversation as Heather began to barter with the trader over two small throwing knives she had found, but his next statement made her blood run cold.

"Ah yes, those fine weapons were forged by a very talented lad on the island for Berk. Traded them in for some squid ink, if I remember correctly. Nice fellow, that boy. In fact, he is—"

The words were at the tip of her tongue before she could stop herself, "How much?"

Both Heather and Johann turned to look at her with mirrored incredulous expressions. It was the first time that she had spoken since they boarded the ship and the words had left her mouth with so much desperation that Astrid nearly cringed as she imagined how the gears were turning in Johann's head. She cursed herself for having no self-control. He was a smart man. Surely he could not be that dense to ignore the coincidences. But in that moment, it did not matter. If the knives had in fact been forged by Hiccup, she had to have them.

"The knives?" Astrid implored again when Johann simply stared at her with a slack jaw. "How much?" He quickly muttered out a reasonable amount and she reached within the pouch at her side and held out the payment he asked for without even trying to barter him down in price. Once the payment was handed over, he turned awkwardly and went off to fetch the knives in question.

"What did you do that for?" Heather hissed quietly when he had his back turned. "I could've gotten him down in price. Besides, _I_ wanted those knives."

Astrid frowned. "Sorry, you can have them if you really want them." She said, even though her heart protested the idea of parting with something made by her lover…or rather, ex-lover. "I just—they remind me of home. My birthplace."

It was not a complete lie.

"I see." The brunette nodded, accepting the answer without fuss to Astrid's relief. For all her dramatics, Heather could be quite reasonable and compassionate when she wanted to be. "Then you should have them. I can find a different set of hunting knives."

At that moment, Johann returned with a small parcel wrapped in soft cloth and both girls fell silent. Astrid took the item from him and tried to ignore the way that his eyes suspiciously lingered on the part of her face not covered by her hood and scarf. With shaking hands, she carefully unwrapped the package. There, in the cloth, lay two tiny throwing knives **[1]**. They were so small in fact, that they were even smaller than her seax. But there was no mistaking the craftsmanship—the patterned knots on the short wooden handle gave them away instantly. Hiccup had indeed made them. She looked up from the knives and tried to fight the tears threatening to spring to her eyes.

"I-I wonder if you might give my compliments to the smith the next time you are on that island." She cursed the fact that her voice came out shaky. If that was not a dead giveaway, she was not sure what else was. Johann was not an ignorant man. "They're beautiful."

But Trader Johann said nothing other than, "And what _exactly_ would you like me to say to him, Miss Astrid?"

"Just tell him that _Astrid_ said ' _thank you_.'" She replied.

Johann nodded solemnly.

There was so much more that she wanted to say, so much that she wished she could have Johann tell him, but could not do so without giving herself completely away—to Heather at least. It was obvious by his tone that Johann now suspected her true identity and luckily, he seemed to respect her decision to remain anonymous. They seemed to have an unspoken understanding. At least now Hiccup would know that she was still alive and well and…thinking of him. And even better, she did not have to risk sending a letter to get the message to him. For so long now she had wanted to discretely get a message to him but had no way of doing so. Having Johann give him the message for her was the best thing she ever could have hoped for.

Heather reached over and abruptly grasped Astrid's elbow, "Well, on that note, I think we should be going."

They quickly shared their goodbyes. Both girls promised to visit him again if he ever came back to trade at Port and Johann wished them happy and safe travels, his eyes lingering on Astrid once more at the word ' _safe'_. Before the blonde Viking knew it, Heather was all but dragging her off the ship. She was angry; that much Astrid could tell. Her green eyes were narrowed and her free hand, the one not dragging Astrid along, was curled into a tight fist. But surprisingly, she remained silent on the matter until they were safely under the rotting docks where Stormfly was waiting for them.

"What was that all about?"

Astrid sighed, suddenly feeling quite tired. She reached out and scratched Stormfly's snout for emotional support as she spoke, "It's nothing, really. I'd really rather not talk about it." The brunette opened her mouth to argue and Astrid was forced to reiterate. " _Please_ , Heather. Just let it go."

"If I let this go now, will you promise to tell me later?" Her companion asked, her annoyance finally giving way to concern.

"Yes, later." Astrid agreed.

They both knew she was lying.

By the time they returned to their own island, it was well past dark. The air was quite warm, the breeze light and comfortable, and the sky was nearly cloudless, revealing a blanket of bright stars. Instead of sleeping in the cavern that evening, Heather and Astrid, along with Stormfly and Sneaky, made a makeshift camp on the beach. They set up a small fire and quickly ate their dinner—fish stew this time—and then turned in for the evening. On a typical night, they would stay up for a while after dinner, cleaning their weapons and chatting about this and that while the dragons played in the sand. But this night was different. Silence reigned. Stormfly was already dozing, if her soft snores were any indication. Similar sounds were coming from Heather's palette too, Sneaky was curled up against her side. As for Heather and Astrid themselves, they were both too lost in their own thoughts for conversation.

For a long while, Astrid lay flat on her back on her pile of furs. Her thoughts were racing. She stared up at the heavens above and tried to make out patterns within the stars, anything to keep her mind from wandering to Berk and its people. After so many months away from home and with Heather now as her constant companion, sometimes it was easy to just _forget_ for a little while. She was able to lose herself in her journey to see the world beyond the Barbaric Archipelago. She was able to forget that she was exiled from her tribe. She was not alone anymore—Heather, Stormfly, and Sneaky were her family now. There were no rules, no obligations. Nothing was expected of her. No one was looking down on her. The only thing that owned her was the sky. But after meeting with Johann that afternoon, it was as if the scabs on her heart had been abruptly and painfully reopened.

 _She missed Berk_.

Her eyes fluttered closed and she tried to picture all the people that she had left behind and how they might have changed since she last saw them—her mother, Hiccup, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Gobber, Stoick. Hel, she even tried to picture Snotlout with a beard. Almost a full year had passed and to her horror, the images in her mind were starting to get fuzzy. She still knew their faces, still knew their voices, but they were not anywhere near as clear in her mind as they had been when she started her journey. Even Hiccup's—the one that she swore she would never forget. She knew the planes of his face deep within her soul, but some of the finer details were starting to slip from her grasp. Unbidden, a tear slipped down her cheek. How much more time would pass before she forgot their faces all together?

A rustling from where Heather was lying brought her out of her painful thoughts. The brunette had turned over onto her side, Sneaky tucked comfortably under her arm, and her eyes were closed. For a moment, Astrid thought her to be asleep and decided that it was probably time for her to do the same. The blonde was just about to turn over herself when Heather spoke in the tiniest of whispers, so quiet that Astrid had to strain to hear.

"What if there was a way to take back all the items that Dagur has stolen? Wouldn't that be nice?"

Astrid did not answer, feigning sleep herself, but a bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

 _Wouldn't it be nice indeed_?

—

A fortnight passed and Heather did not bring up Trader Johann or Dagur again, much to Astrid's relief. That being said, the blonde still thought that her companion was planning some kind of scheme but for the time being, it seemed as though Heather had other things on her mind. She seemed more determined than ever to get out and explore, wanting to see new dragons. Astrid suspected that Heather had finally reached the point where she could not stand not having a dragon of her own any longer and this was her way of trying to find her _own_ Stormfly. Actually, she knew that it was the case because Heather was not being secretive in her endeavor whatsoever.

"What kind of dragon do you think would suit me best?" Heather asked eagerly as they skimmed just above the ocean waves. The sea spray splashed up onto them, offering relief from the warm afternoon sun. "Another Deadly Nadder or maybe a different dragon altogether, like a Monstrous Nightmare or a Changewing or a Hobblegrunt?"

Astrid chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm, "That is a definite _no_ on the Changewing. They are not the kind of dragon that can be trained, trust me. Stormfly and I ran into a pod one time, it didn't end well."

"I thought any dragon could be trained to work with you if you earn their trust?" Heather argued.

"Most can, but not all. Some are just too wild."

She laughed again when she heard Heather grumbling behind her in disappointment.

"How do you know when you've found the right dragon anyway?"

Astrid shrugged, "It's hard to explain. You just… _know_. Isn't that right, Stormfly?" She reached down and patted Stormfly's flank affectionately. The colorful Nadder chirped happily in reply. "When you find your dragon Heather, you'll know and they'll know too. It's a bond that is impossible to explain."

Heather grumbled again, but this time it was more out of sarcasm than actual frustration.

The two women along with Stormfly spent the day exploring the local remote islands, the ones more populated with dragons than people. They came across several wild species during their expedition from Deadly Nadders to Gronckles, Monstrous Nightmares to a Whispering Death— _which was a harrowing experience_. They even saw a Typhoomerang flying overhead, a rare dragon that Astrid had never seen before but Heather was familiar with. However, it looked extremely agitated so they steered clear of that particular dragon.

By late afternoon, Astrid could tell that Heather was starting to become discouraged. She tried her best to comfort her friend—not everyone could just stumble upon their dragon after a couple hours of exploring after all. It seemed to appease Heather somewhat, but the brunette was still troubled. They met up with a few more dragons but received the same exact results, either disinterest on Heather's part or disinterest on the dragon's side.

"I know you don't want to hear this Heather, but we need to be heading back soon." Astrid finally said, her gaze fixed on the slowly setting sun.

Heather's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I know. I just, I thought that we would find one today. Flying with you and Stormfly is great but…I want to have my own bond, with my own dragon."

"Bonding with a dragon isn't something that happens overnight. You have to grow to trust each other." The blonde reasoned.

Astrid then clamored up onto Stormfly's back and held out a hand for her companion to help her up. Heather did not comment to Astrid's reasoning and instead took her outstretched hand and allowed the blonde to pull her up to settle in behind her on the Nadder. Once Heather was steady, Astrid clicked her tongue and Stormfly shot up off into the sky, intent on taking them back home to their island. With Stormfly's speed, they would make it back to the island in no time. It was quiet as they flew, something rather unusual for the two Vikings. They usually were full of chatter, even when it came to mundane things. Astrid became lost in her thoughts, ideas of how to find a dragon for Heather taking up the majority, while Heather herself seemed content to stare at the scenery zooming by around them.

But as they were flying over one of their neighboring islands, Heather suddenly gasped and alerted Astrid to something happening down below. Unable to see clearly from the height they were at, Astrid asked Stormfly to slow to a glide and take them down below the cover of the cloudbank. Stormfly complied. The scene that awaited them was one that shocked and infuriated both Vikings.

Trappers. _Dragon_ trappers.

It was something that even during her travels, Astrid had yet to come face to face with. On Port, she occasionally overheard people talking of the dragon trapping business and it never failed to fill her with disgust, but she had never seen it in action before. White hot fury filled her as her blues eyes took in the harrowing scene below. A small group of brute looking Vikings had captured a silver colored dragon in a large metal cage and were attempting to take it aboard a pontoon just off the beach. The dragon trapped within the cage was still alive, and putting up quite a bit of resistance against the trappers at that, but its movements were frantic and careless, as if it did not have proper control of its body.

A larger ship was anchored further back in deeper water with more of the ghastly looking crew onboard. The main ship was far larger than a typical Viking vessel and sported bright white sails with the symbol of a Monstrous Nightmare's torso being pierced by a sword and an arrow. **[2]** The ship and its occupants were something that Astrid herself was completely unfamiliar with. Heather did not seem to know them either.

"We have to do something!" The brunette cried fiercely.

Astrid frowned, it was their unspoken duty to protect that dragons near their home but at the same time the odds were highly against them in this case. "But there are so many of them! It's the two of us against twenty grown men!" She argued. "I've never—I've never fought anyone like this before."

"They're going to kill that dragon if we don't do something and you know it! Can you live knowing that you could have done something to save it, but didn't? What if that was Stormfly down there?" Heather's voice was sharp and the jab towards Astrid cracked like a whip in the air.

But it got the exact reaction Heather had been hoping for.

Astrid clenched her jaw furiously and leaned down closer to her beloved dragon, "Aim for the trappers, girl. Give it all you've got! We're going to free that dragon!"

Stormfly squawked in acknowledgment. The Nadder abruptly dove from the cloudbank and released a spray of deadly magnesium fire down on the trappers below. The trappers aboard the pontoon did not even know what hit them. The flames from Stormfly's blast lit the smaller vessel up like a funeral pyre. Astrid's own battle instincts took over, much like they had during the last raid she fought in on Berk. She pushed back the guilt that she felt for attacking and more than likely killing the trappers. She told herself that they deserved what they got for what they did to the dragons they hunted, captured, and sold for slaughter. She was just delivering the dragons' revenge. The few men who were fortunate enough not to be on the fiery pontoon immediately raised their bows to fire arrows at the Deadly Nadder attacking them from above, only to stop short when they saw not just one but _two_ riders on its back.

"Take me down. I'll take the remaining men on the ground if you and Stormfly cover me from the sky." Heather suddenly said. Astrid turned to look at her with a bewildered expression on her face. "Don't look at me like that, Astrid! Just do it!"

"Okay, but make sure to watch your back. Stormfly and I will cover you as best as we can."

She truthfully did not like the idea of Heather fighting all the men alone, but she also knew that Heather was deadly with an axe. If anyone could fight off the trappers and actually win, it was her. Stormfly dove down towards the beach and Heather prepared herself by crouching on top of the Nadder's back. Once the she was mere feet above the beach, the brunette jumped and rolled down into the sand, landing in another graceful crouch and brandished her axe from her back. She wasted no time throwing herself into the thick of the fray and meeting the men's resistance with the blade of her axe.

Meanwhile, up in the air, Stormfly and Astrid continued to offer their assistance in any way that they could. Astrid clumsily guided her dragon in their attacks. Fighting in such a manner was something she had never really considered before. She had fought hand-to-hand combat against dragons before, obviously on Berk, but she had never launched an aerial assault against _people_ before. They might have been dragon trappers, but they were still human.

Astrid knew better than anyone that Stormfly never missed a target.

Luckily, Stormfly has no such sentiments for the dragon trappers and relied on her instincts to protect both the injured dragon and the brunette fighting down before. With a few spine shots and streams of fire, any attempt of row boats from the main ship coming to the men on shore's aid was thwarted.

Glancing down over Stormfly's flank, Astrid let out a sigh of relief when the few remaining dragon trappers fighting Heather on shore wisely chose to retreat. Although they were not outnumbered, they were still losing considering they had not only been caught off guard but also terribly unmatched for the warrior, dragon rider, and Deadly Nadder team. Stormfly landed down on the beach just as the final two trappers had jumped into the sea to swim back to the main ship—the pontoon was destroyed after all. Astrid hopped down from her dragon's back and ran to where Heather was standing over the body of one of the more unfortunate dragon trappers. The man was alive, but just barely. Heather's axe seemed to have caught him across the stomach and dark, sticky blood pooled on the ground around him. The brunette in question currently had her boot pressed over the wound, questioning him about something. The man was struggling to speak while choking on his own blood. Astrid knew Heather to be an accomplished warrior and sometimes her more…brazen side…took control, but she had never seen Heather look as frenzied as she did now **[3]**.

" _Heather_!" She spat, surprised by the venom of her tone. "Leave him alone, it's over."

A dark look crossed Heather's face. "Let me question him, Astrid. He may be working for Dagur." Her chest heaved with exertion and anger.

Astrid slowly approached her friend as she would a hostile dragon and put a calming hand on her shoulder. "I doubt it. Let him go. This fight was not about Dagur. There is an injured dragon that needs to be tended to."

"All the more reason for me to kill him." Heather hissed. The man whimpered fearfully and Astrid almost felt sorry for him. "I'll show him what it feels like to be slaughtered."

"We have more important things to worry about than a dying dragon trapper." The man began coughing up more blood at her words and Astrid gave him a pitying look, "No offense of course."

"Damn you, Astrid! I hate it that you are always right." The brunette cried.

Then to Astrid's relief, Heather shouldered her axe and left the man to die in peace. The trapper watched the angry brunette stomp away with a look of relief on his face. When she was gone, he nodded his thanks but Astrid merely glared in response. She had not stopped Heather for _his_ sake, she had done it to save the dragon. The man took a few more shuddering breaths and then went strangely still, his eyes staring lifelessly at the clear sky above them. Astrid gathered every ounce of courage and honor within her and slowly knelt down at his side, closing his eyes in respect—even though she knew he did not deserve it for the atrocities he had committed against dragons.

"Astrid! We need you!"

The blonde tore her gaze away from the dead man and looked to where Heather's voice had come from. Further up the beach, the brunette and Stormfly were attempting to force open the metal cage that held the silver dragon. Without sparing the man another glance, she jogged up the beach to help. The dragon the trappers had captured was one that she was unfamiliar with. Reflective silver scales covered its entire body, resembling iron armor. Yet it had a horned snout and a whip-like tail covered in barbs that were remarkably similar to Stormfly's features. No doubt it was a member of the Sharp Class.

By the time that Astrid made it up the length of the beach, Heather and Stormfly had successfully broken the locks on the cage. Heather was scrambling into the cage with the injured dragon before Astrid could warn her otherwise. But her worries were in vein. The dragon was no longer fighting. In fact it had stopped moving all together, as if it had just given up, and released a series of pitiful moans that made her heart clench painfully in her chest. It was wounded and missing many scales all along its belly. Although still reflective in nature, the scales there looked to be less like armor and more like normal dragon hide. It was clearly the dragon's weak spot. Its underside was a mess of deep gashes and burns and several green tipped arrows.

"What kind of dragon is this?" Astrid asked as she joined Heather in the cage.

"A Razorwhip. It's very rare, but infamous to the southern islands." Heather gave the blonde a telling look. "A Typhoomerang I can understand but seriously, you must have been born in the north if you've never heard of _this_ beast."

Astrid ignored the jab and lightly reached out to touch the dragon's broken scales. "These scratches don't appear to have been made by the hunters. The blood is dried for one thing." She remarked quietly. "I think it was attacked by another dragon." **[4]**

Heather pondered the thought for a few moments before speaking, "It makes sense as to why she was having a hard time fighting back. She likely exhausted herself."

"So it's a female?" Astrid asked.

"I believe so."

She abruptly stood and wiped her dirty hands against her skirt. "Well, we can't just leave her here. With her injured like this, she's an easy target to predators."

"What do you suppose we do then?" Heather questioned, rising to her feet as well. "Take her back to the island?"

"That's precisely what we're going to do."

The dragon's wounds were too severe to be left on her own and unfortunately, it was not anything that they could treat without proper supplies. The task proved to be much harder than either woman initially anticipated. As it turned out, the green tipped arrows that had pierced the Razorwhip's scales were not ordinary arrows. They contained some sort of stunning property that took away a dragon's control over its body. The Razorwhip was conscious and seemed to be fully aware of Astrid and Heather's presence, but it could not move. That coupled with its exhaustion and injuries meant it was impossible that the dragon could fly on its own. Their only option was to have Stormfly carry the Razorwhip. After ensuring the Razorwhip was as comfortable as could be given the situation, the two women climbed onto Stormfly's back and the Deadly Nadder took to the skies with the injured silver dragon cradled in her talons.

To Astrid's surprise— _although it really should not have been_ —Heather took it upon herself to nurse the Razorwhip back to health. For over a week, she spent nearly all her time with the dragon and had little regard for her own health. If it were not for Astrid hounding her, the blonde knew that her friend probably would have forgotten to eat much less get a good night's sleep. But truthfully, she could not fault Heather for being so dedicated to the injured dragon. For some inexplicable reason, Heather felt drawn to the Razorwhip. She told Astrid so herself. Luckily, the Razorwhip returned Heather's fascination. The two got along splendidly. That part of the situation really did not surprise Astrid. It had been much the same situation with herself and Stormfly after all. There was no rhyme or reason to a dragon bond. It just…happened. It was like two halves of a whole finally coming together. It was like finding a part of yourself that you never knew was missing.

It was a very rewarding experience to see Heather and the Razorwhip's bond strengthen as the days went by. Together, with the help of Astrid and Stormfly, they trained together and became a team. Eventually, Heather gave the Razorwhip a name—Windshear. In the weeks that followed, Heather was in higher spirits than Astrid had ever seen her. She was more determined than ever. It was as if she had purpose again.

"We'll be the perfect team, you and I." She overheard Heather tell Windshear one night when the other girl thought Astrid was sleeping. "We will be unstoppable."

 _Unstoppable_. That was what made Astrid worried.

What exactly was Heather planning?

* * *

 **[1] The two small knives seen here are a nod to the pair that Hiccup gives to Astrid at the beginning of** _ **Have Dragon Will Travel: Part One**_ **episode of** _ **Race to the Edge**_ **season one.**

 **[2] The type of ship mentioned here is one of the dragon hunter ships featured in the second season of** _ **Race to the Edge**_ **. I have chosen to mention it here in this scene as it makes the most sense, but the dragon trappers will not play a further role in the story. I promised no spoilers for the second season and do not think this would count as a spoiler but if it is, I apologize! :/**

 **[3] My attempt of bringing out Heather's berserker tendencies. So yes, I am keeping Heather's canon origins although she is unaware of them and more than likely never will find out about her relation to Dagur in this story. Dagur is merely a side plot and for now is going to be a** _ **mentioned-only**_ **character. Heather's reaction here may be harsh, but her character can be quite cold sometimes. Even in canon.**

 **[4] In canon, Heather is said to have found her dragon after Windshear was attacked by a Typhoomerang. I have chosen to stick with this story. As such, the Typhoomerang that Heather and Astrid saw earlier in the day before coming upon the dragon trappers would be the same dragon that attacked Windshear.**

* * *

 **Hmm, what is Heather planning?**

 **To give a recap: Astrid met Heather in chapter fifteen at the beginning of** _ **sumar**_ **, so around** _ **Harpa**_ **(mid-April to mid-May). In the beginning of the current chapter (sixteen), most of the** _ **sumar**_ **months have passed. That would put us around** _ **Tvímánuður**_ **(mid-August to mid-September) or possibly even** _ **Haustmánuður**_ **(mid-September to mid-October) by the end. So Astrid has officially been away from Berk for a year at the end of this current chapter.**

 **The next chapter (seventeen) is a bit shorter and also a bit choppier than how** _ **Drengskapr**_ **chapters normally progress. We will see a small time skip to the beginning of the winter months, most likely** _ **Ýlir**_ **(mid-November to mid-December) but by the seventeen's end, a whole second year will have passed since Astrid left Berk. But chapter seventeen will be the last of the major time skips. I will give you that much :) And with chapter eighteen, we will begin the final story arc.**

 **Thank you all for your patience on this update as I was finishing up with finals and graduation last week. I survived and now things are relatively back to normal! :D Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think in your reviews!**

 **\- Mari.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Chapter Seventeen**

A few months passed before Astrid found out just what Heather was planning.

The two women, their respective dragons, and Sneaky found themselves around a blazing campfire one early _vintr_ evening. They had spent the entire day exploring, as was common now that they both had dragons to fly. Luckily, although the _vintr_ months had finally arrived, the weather was proving to be quite mild for a change. No freezing-to-death temperatures thus far. The milder temperatures and the fact that Heather now had a dragon of her own allowed them to become more daring—flying further and further away from their island, sometimes spending days at a time away to explore not only what the southern islands had to offer, but also what laid beyond. What they found was a mixture of different cultures and completely new dragons, ones that even Heather had never heard of. However, on this night, they were finally back on their own island for a change.

"So, ever since we met that odd trader on Port a few months ago, I've been thinking of a way to get back at Dagur and still help the people whose lives he has destroyed." The brunette admitted out of the blue.

"What?" Astrid was so startled by the sudden announcement that she dropped the fish she had been cooking into the fire. The next few moments were filled with lots of cursing as she failed to retrieve her dinner. But when she realized just what Heather had said, her ruined meal was abruptly forgotten. It was what she had feared all along. "Wait, you mean Trader Johann?

Heather nodded, "Yes, Trader Johann. Sorry, I'd forgotten his name."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "What does he have to do with Dagur?"

"He knows where Dagur is!"

Her eyes narrowed, "And why would you want to know where Dagur is?" Heather shrugged, trying to appear innocent but after living with the brunette for so long, Astrid was not fooled. "You don't want to go looking for him, Heather. I can promise you that nothing good will come of it. I know you want to avenge your village but you can't beat him on your own."

"We have dragons!"

"And he kills dragons!"

"You and Stormfly went against him to rescue me!" The brunette cried.

Astrid shook her head in disbelief that her friend would argue such a thing. She had not even been _conscious_ when they rescued her. She had no idea what things had really even been like. "No. Stormfly and I went against some lowlife Berserkers, not Dagur himself. The men did not know we were coming, so we had the element of surprise. We never even engaged them. Stormfly quickly picked you up from the beach and carried you here like she did to Windshear when she was injured." Heather huffed indignantly, not liking Astrid's rebuttal. "I have no idea what you're planning but even if Stormfly and I were to help you, we still run the chance of one of us being seriously injured. Are you ready to gamble Windshear's life like that? Are you ready to gamble our lives like that?"

At hearing her name spoken, the Razorwhip's metallic head lifted from where it was resting on the ground by Heather's feet. The anger and irritation that had started to appear on Heather's face abruptly fell away when she looked at her dragon. For all Heather's cold exterior, she had an obvious soft spot for her dragon. Windshear cooed slightly and nudged her rider's shoulder. When the brunette's shoulders slumped in defeat, Astrid knew that her honest words had made Heather second guess herself. It proved that Heather was solely focusing on her revenge plot, not on what it could do to them or their dragons.

"No, no I'm not." Heather replied quietly.

"If you're going to do this, we need to be smart about it."

Heather's head shot up from where she had been glaring at the flames of the fire before her.

"Did you just say _we_?"

Astrid could not help laughing despite the seriousness of the situation. "Yes, we. You honestly didn't think I was going to let you go off on your own, did you? I know I can't talk you out of this and we've always said that two axes are better than one anyways. I know you're a great warrior, but you have no idea what you are up against when it comes to Dagur. He's called Dagur the Derangedfor a reason!"

"You know," Her companion began with a frown. "For someone who says they've never met him personally; you sure know a heck of a lot about Dagur."

"When you spend as much time on Port as I have, you hear a few things." Astrid lied smoothly, or at least she hoped that she did.

Thankfully, Heather nodded thoughtfully at the lie and reached down by her side to pick up her new battle axe, beginning the methodical nightly processes of cleaning it as if it were a precious gem. Which to Heather, was entirely comparable. The girl loved axes. Nothing would ever come close to Hiccup's axe in her eyes, but even Astrid had to admit that the brunette's new weapon was truly a work of wonder. While the axe Hiccup had made her was beautiful in the intricate details that he had put into it, Heather's was impressive in the sheer strength, uniqueness, and the deadliness that it possessed.

Several weeks ago, they had made the acquaintance of a very unique blacksmith who forged equally unique weapons during one of their longer explorations to the mainland. He was not unlike Gobber in the fact that he was heavyset smith who loved nothing more than creating brutish weapons and would talk your ear off if you gave him the chance. Also like the Berkian master smith, he did not have an eye for detail. Hiccup's former words on Gobber's abilities sprang to the forefront of her mind. _Gobber is not one for detail, per say. As long as the weapon is sturdy, well balanced, and sharp enough to slice a dragon's head clean off, he does not care what it looks like._ Being around Völundr had been a painful reminder of Berk, but Astrid had thought that she covered her nostalgia well.

The two women had spent over an hour in his shop looking through his work—longswords, bows, axes, short swords, knives, staves, hatchets—you name it, Völundr the Smith made it **[1]**. When Heather came across a wicked battle axe and spear hybrid, she asked Völundr to make one for her, but with a few special modifications. Völundr was immediately intrigued by the request, having never worked with dragon scales before. After entrusting him with a few of Windshear's loose scales— _fortunately he never asked how she came by them_ —a few days later, Heather had her own version of the hybrid weapon. It had yet to see any action aside from a few unlucky trees on their island, but Heather still cleaned it every single night as if it saw constant action.

But Astrid could not blame her, she still revered Hiccup's axe in much the same manner.

"Like I said, ever since we met that Trader Johann fellow at Port, I've been thinking of a way that I can get back at Dagur and help the people whose lives that he has destroyed. I think I know the answer now." Heather murmured aloud sometime later, not looking up from her axe. "He's looting the villages for their possessions to trade for gold, isn't he?" She questioned thoughtfully.

"I believe so." Astrid replied cautiously.

Heather finally looked up from her axe and met Astrid's gaze from across the flames. With the fire reflecting in her jade colored eyes and the wicked grin playing on her lips, Astrid was almost afraid of what her companion's next words were going to be.

"What if someone were to steal it all back?"

—

The ocean zoomed by beneath them, a blur of watery dark blue and white sea foam. Heather and Windshear were nearby—Astrid could make out the glint of the Razorwhip's scales several yards ahead of her. They were on a search mission that day. Their target? Trader Johann's ship. Heather had finally revealed the rest of her plan to Astrid and although the blonde hated to admit it, it actually was not the worst of plans. It was much more thought out than her original attack first, ask questions later kind of deal. But, it all depended on not only Trader Johann's confidence, but his involvement as well. _That_ was the only part that Astrid was truly wary about. She was not sure she wanted to use the trader as a pawn to help Heather achieve her revenge. Dagur was dangerous. She knew it, Trader Johann knew it, but Heather had no idea what she was truly up against. Part of Astrid hoped that Johann would refuse and that would be the end of it. Yet the uncomfortable churning in her gut told her that this whole revenge business with Heather would not die so easily.

"Any sign of him?" The brunette in question asked, bringing Windshear around into a glide so that she was hovering slightly in front of Astrid and her Nadder.

"Not yet." Astrid replied honestly.

Heather nodded, "I think we've exhausted our search in the south. We should turn north. Trader Johann seemed to be more familiar with the northern islands anyway."

Her suggestion caused the nervousness that had been fluttering in Astrid's gut all morning to return tenfold. Since leaving Berk, she had tried very hard to avoid the northern islands of the Barbaric Archipelago. It was too painful to be so close and know that she could not show her face on Berk until her banishment was lifted; if it ever was. Thus, returning to the Barbaric Archipelago could spell bad news for her. She knew that the chances were slim but what if she somehow ran into Hiccup? Would she try to hide her true identity from him or would she reveal herself? Would she be strong enough to leave him a second time? What is she ran into someone else who ultimately recognized her? Trader Johann had seen through the disguise easily enough. Surely someone else could do the same. If that happened, her cover could be blown and then Heather would know that she had been lying to her all along. It was silly, but she was still not ready for all her secrets to be out in the open. She doubted she ever would be. She scrambled for an excuse, some reason to avoid going north, but could find none.

So she gave in.

Heather was thrilled. As soon as Astrid gave her consent, the brunette and the Razorwhip sped off in the newly agreed upon direction with a gleeful whoop and an accompanied roar from Windshear. Momentarily, Astrid forced down her worries and focused on the fact that for the first time in more than a year, she was returning to familiar waters.

"Let's go, girl." She whispered to her dragon as they followed after their companions. "We're going home."

It took the better part of the day to reach the outer boundaries of the Archipelago. As the night drew on, the cold light of the moon and stars illuminated the watery expanse below them, highlighting nameless small islands and sea stacks. Her heart rate began to speed up when she began spotting familiar landmarks—landmarks that she had not seen since her and Stormfly's first flights over a year previous. They were getting much too close to Berk for her comfort, an hour's flight at the least. She urged Stormfly faster to catch up with Heather and Windshear. But just as she was about to call out to her companion, she spotted a slow moving dark shape in the distance. A ship. A very familiar ship. To her dismay, Heather saw it as well and drew back to fall in line next to Astrid and Stormfly.

"Down there!"

"I saw it too." Astrid bit her lip, "Should we really disturb him in the middle of the night?"

Heather chuckled, "All the better! If he's half asleep, he might be easier to persuade."

Before Astrid could muster a reply, the brunette pulled her dark hood over her raven locks and made a clicking noise with her tongue to her dragon. Windshear immediately drew in her wings and began dropping from the sky with startling speed, heading straight for Johann's trading ship. Having no other choice, Astrid dawned her hood and scarf as well and Stormfly followed in suit.

Poor Trader Johann did not even know what hit him.

The small vessel groaned and shook as the Razorwhip and Nadder landed heavily on the wooden deck. The two women waited several moments before the hatch leading below deck creaked open and Trader Johann finally poked his weary head up to investigate. Honestly, Astrid was surprised that he had even come up at all. She knew him to be an easily spooked man. Unsurprisingly, he squeaked in a mixture of fear and surprise when he saw the two dangerous looking dragons and two hooded figures standing on his ship, their forms only illuminated by the stars and his meager excuse of a lantern.

"Sorry to just drop in on you in the middle of the night, Johann. But we're in need of a favor and you are just the man for the job." Heather began with a smirk, taking amusement in the way the poor man quaked in his boots.

Astrid shot her a glare.

There was no need to be so callous.

"Miss Heather? Miss Astrid?!" His eyes ran unbelievably up and down Heather's form before turning to Astrid and viewing her with equal disbelief. "And d-dragons?!"

"Don't worry. Stormfly and Windshear won't hurt you." Astrid immediately assured him without thinking.

If possible, the trader's eyes widened even further.

" _So it was true_." He quickly murmured under his breath, so fast that Astrid almost missed it.

The shock fell from his features, replaced by quick acceptance. If Heather found it suspicious, she did not show it. Johann's narrowed eyes trained on Astrid. She felt as though his beady gaze was burning a hole through her dark blue hood and scarf. Her heartbeat sped up again. She could only assume that news of her banishment and the reasoning behind it had indeed gotten out. She wondered if Stoick had bothered to keep his promise at all, or if it was merely a ruse. Now more than ever, she worried that coming back to the Archipelago might have been a grave mistake.

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure of you and your dragons' company this evening? I trust that it is urgent, given that it apparently could not wait until reasonable visiting hours." He bit.

Heather barely contained her snort, "I like you Johann, and since it's late, I'll cut straight to the point. As it turns out, we are in need of further information on the Berserker armada's whereabouts. As you were so helpful last time, our first thought was to come back to you. You see, Dagur and his armada have devastated the southern islands. His raiding is getting out of control. Someone needs to stop him and they need to be strategic about it. We need information on his raid ship's trade routes, locations, and times. We need to know where he plans to attack next."

"But see, that's not the only thing that we need." Astrid promptly cut in. He swiveled around to look at her in surprise. "We also need a trader; one that we can trust."

Johann's bushy eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Whatever for?"

"Dagur is raiding the islands to sell off what he plunders for gold. I'm sure you don't want to hear my sob story so I'll just sum it up for you: that bastard stole everything from me and I'm going to make him sorry. I really don't care what his ultimate mission is or why he needs the gold—maybe he's just greedy, who knows? Frankly, I don't care. But those are people's _memories,_ their _lives_. He has no right to just come in and take it." Heather ground out, her green eyes flashing with resentment. "So we're going to steal it back…and destroy his crew and ships while we're at it." She added the last comment rather flippantly.

"We also need a trader to redistribute all that we are able take back from the raiders."

The boat continued to rock and groan under the added weight of the two dragons. It was the only sound that filled Astrid's ears after the added words left her lips. Trader Johann was stunned to silence, a rare feat if there ever was one. His jaw flapped open and hung in an unattractive manner. Were they not in such a serious situation, Astrid would have burst out laughing at the look on his face, but it was neither the time nor place to do so.

"So will you help us or not?"

Heather took a sudden step forward and Johann made to take an automatic step back, but then just as quickly thought better of it. Astrid silently applauded him for standing his ground. Apparently he had grown a bit of a backbone in the past year, likely a result of his new dealings at Port. One could not allow themselves to be intimidated in a place such as that. It was quiet for several moments as Heather and Johann stared each other down. Finally, his shoulders slumped and Astrid knew that they had him.

"You drive a hard bargain." Johann began. "But lucky for you, I'm willing to negotiate."

Heather's grin was instantaneous.

—

In the end, he agreed to help.

And he never asked for anything in return.

Trader Johann provided the information that they needed on the Berserker ship routes and redistributed the stolen goods back to the islands from which they originally came from as best as he was able. Heather was surprised that he never asked for any kind of payment for his services— _not that they would have been able to pay him_ —but Astrid was not. Johann was an honest sort and deep down, she believed that his decision to help had more to do with her involvement than wanting to help the southerners regain their stolen wares. It was no secret now that he knew her identity.

Over the next year, the three allies developed a solid system. Johann provided them with the when's and the where's and for every village that the Berserker's destroyed, Astrid and Heather sunk the ships that carried the loot and took what items they could back to Trader Johann to be redistributed back to their rightful owners. It turned out to be nearly a full time job. They were here, there, and everywhere. Never fully engaging him, but always right on Dagur's heels. That was Astrid's first condition. If it turned out by some chance that Dagur was on the ship they were looting, they had to pull back. She never wanted to engage him head on.

They became sort of infamous by chasing down Dagur's ships and his men. Word spread through both the northern and southern islands like wildfire, although most of it was not even true. The _attackers'_ identities were never confirmed, as there usually were not any survivors to tell their tales. Heather and Astrid made sure to do their job as thoroughly and as efficiently as possible. They did not want Dagur catching wind of who, or what, was attacking his loot ships. Astrid always thought it comical when she heard a tale of two warriors riding astride dragons attacking ships late in the night.

Ironically, it was the least believed of all the stories.

But it the only one that was actually _true_.

One would have thought that the constant attacks on his ships would have caused Dagur to back off, but if anything, he only increased his raiding to make up for what he lost. Before, months would pass in the south between raids. Now, the armada was constantly on the move. Astrid, Heather, and their dragons did their best to keep up. As such, they could go days, even weeks, away from their permanent campsite on their island. Raids now took place mere weeks apart and they had spread. In the most recent months, the armada had set their sights on some of the smaller northern islands. Never Berk, luckily, but Astrid constantly feared the day might soon come when Dagur became desperate enough to attack his own allies—if the alliances even still stood.

Because of Heather's constant presence, Johann never spoke to Astrid about her homeland. She knew nothing of how Berk fared. As was their unspoken agreement, he kept his prior connection to her a secret. Sometimes, it was easy to pretend the island and most of its inhabitants did not even exist. She made sure that they steered clear of the island itself but for all their time spent in the north chasing down the Berserkers, Astrid knew that she was extremely lucky that she and Heather never came across a Berkian vessel.

That would have raised a few questions.

As the time passed and she became more and more involved with Heather's revenge plot, Astrid found herself thinking less and less of her exile—when she was awake anyway. Sometimes she had dreams of chance encounters with her mother, Hiccup, or Ruffnut. Despite the time that had passed, painful memories of the day of her banishment and her goodbye with Hiccup were still fresh in her mind and often replayed in her dreams. Thankfully, the memories only touched her when she was sleeping. Her days and even most nights were typically much too busy to dwell on her past.

Although it had started out as nothing more than a gamble, time convinced her of Heather's cause. It was no longer _just_ about revenge. Astrid had made sure of that. That was her second condition. They were helping people. She was able to see the villages that they helped rebuild their lives. All because of her, Heather, and their dragon's efforts. Not to mention, the experience of real combat had taught her so much, in both experience and about herself. The blonde learned quickly during their first few skirmishes that the Berserkers would show her no mercy, so she returned the favor in kind. She and Stormfly perfected their aerial tactics—flaming tail spikes were an excellent weapon. She no longer fumbled with her axe, or any other weapon for that matter. Her axe was now like an extension of her own arm, she never went anywhere without it.

Overall, she was happy.

She had her battle-sisters by her side and she was doing well. She was no longer wandering aimlessly through her days. Her life now held a true purpose again.

—

They were once again flying over the Barbaric Archipelago's far northern waters in search of Dagur's newest loot ship. Johann had tipped them off just a few days before that the ships path would pass what should have been a few hours' flight north of Berk. Astrid was weary of going so close to the island, but knew that she had no reason to deny going after this particular ship. She spent the entire flight there in a constant state of nerves. Lucky for her, Heather chose to fly on ahead and was completely unaware of her companion's nervousness.

All of a sudden, a quick flash of something dark burst through the clouds further up ahead of them. It had been too far away and much too fast for her to make out any definite details, but her gut told her that it was another dragon. Astrid and Stormfly slowed to a hesitant glide. Heather and Windshear continued on ahead of them and were now nowhere to be seen, but a year of flying with the pair had accustomed Astrid's senses to them. A flash of gleaming silver could have been them, but matte black—definitely not. That left the possibility of a wild dragon and where there was one wild dragon, there was usually others to follow.

"Be on your guard, Stormfly." Astrid cautioned her Nadder, although it was not necessary. Stormfly was usually much more observant than she was when it came to wild dragons. "If it's a pod of wild dragons, we don't want to be getting caught up with them."

Stormfly squawked in agreement.

They flew on, albeit this time at a slower pace. It was several moments before she spotted it again, but this time there was no denying it. She had been right. Dragons—at least four of them—were flying up ahead of them. But that was not the strange part. It was the fact that the four dragons were flying in a structured diamond formation that captured Astrid's attention. She had never seen wild dragons fly in such a disciplined form before. Even stranger, was the fact that they appeared to be four very different kinds of dragons. From what she had seen, wild dragons usually stayed with dragons of their own species, or at least their own class. The dragons were still too far ahead of her, but if she squinted she swore she could make out the red body of a Monstrous Nightmare and the yellow dual heads of a Zippleback **[2].** Because of their distance, the other two dragons were even harder to make out. One appeared as a dark lump, most likely some kind of boulder-class, and the fourth, sleek dragon at the head looked sort of like a—no, it was _impossible_.

It hit her like a ton of a bricks. A black dragon. How many sleek, black dragons with large, bat-like wings could possibly be in existence? Especially one that flew in broad daylight with what looked like a figure on its back? Her heart raced within her chest at the possibility of just _who_ might be flying ahead of them.

"Oh my gods." She gasped.

Before she could decide just what she wanted to do, the familiar call of a Razorwhip distracted her from the dragons flying swiftly away from them. Astrid turned her head briefly to see Windshear and Heather appearing on the cloud bank to the right of them. She muttered a quick greeting to her companion and turned back, but it was too late.

By the time she looked back to where the dragons had been, they were _gone_.

"No, no, no, NO! They can't be gone!"

Heather raised an eyebrow at Astrid's sudden outburst, "What? Who's gone where?"

"The dragons! They were just there and now, now they're gone!" In her panic of losing sight of what might have been _Hiccup_ , her words were jumbled and made little sense. At seeing Heather's frown and furrowed eyebrows, she took a deep breath to calm herself but her heart was still pounding. "I saw four dragons. One was a Zippleback, one was a Monstrous Nightmare, one was a—" She cut off with a giggle when she realized what the boulder-class lump had most likely been. "Oh gods! It was a Gronckle! And the fourth, it was a Night Fury!"

Now it was Heather's turn to laugh, "A Night Fury? That's impossible!"

"I swear, Heather. It really was a Night Fury and—and I think someone was riding it."

"I hate to break it to you, Astrid, but we're the only dragon riders in this Archipelago. Don't you think that Johann would say something otherwise? It's been a year and he _still_ loses it when we come in riding on Stormfly and Windshear."

Astrid wanted to say, ' _But what if he doesn't know_ ' but just as quickly, decided that it was best to keep that comment to herself. Because really, what were the chances? Heather was probably right. The brunette herself had not seen anything unusual and she had been flying in that direction as well. Perhaps she was seeing things. Perhaps her brain was forming shapes of things that were not really there. Doubt squashed the hope that had been steadily rising in her chest. For all she knew, she had just imagined all of it. It had been a few days since she got a decent night's rest. Recently, her dreams had been filled with memories of Berk. Perhaps this was just an extension of that; nothing more than a waking dream.

"I must just be seeing things." She murmured, reasoning that in the end, it was just a random pod of dragons.

Heather nodded in agreement. "Come on, we should be reaching the ship route soon."

And that was the end of that conversation.

Or so she thought.

—

Soft morning sunlight poured through the makeshift campsite the next morning. Astrid sat up with a yawn and rubbed her weary eyes. Her back ached and her neck had a crick in it. Despite the fact she had not slept in a real bed in over two years, sleeping on the uneven surface of a beach never failed to make her miserable the next day. Even worse, she felt as though she had not slept a wink. She had thought that her exhaustion from chasing down the loot ship the previous day would have given her some dreamless sleep, but once again, she had been plagued with dreams of Berk—the raids most specifically and the night that Hiccup shot Toothless down. She leaned forward and held her palms over her eyes. If this kept happening, she was never going to get any sleep. She never felt rested after having dreams of her past.

"Who's Hiccup?"

At Heather's abrupt question, Astrid's hands dropped away from her face. She looked over at her companion with wide, terrified eyes. The brunette sat across the newly kindled fire roasting a fish on a stick for breakfast and seemed to be eyeing her with barely concealed curiosity. Astrid was stunned. In two years she had never mentioned his name aloud. She had never let it slip. How could Heather have possibly found out about him? How could she have heard his name? Surely, it had to be a coincidence.

"Who? Where did you—"

"You were calling out that name last night in your sleep." Heather interrupted, her jade eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Astrid's automatic reaction was to spout, "He's no one."

"Look Astrid, this isn't the first time I've heard you say his name while you were sleeping. There have been others that you've mentioned too, but _his_ comes up most frequently." She admitted softly. "I know you don't like to talk about your past. It always seemed like a painful topic, so I never wanted to push it until now. But we're a team now, battle-sisters, you can tell me anything. I've been thinking about what you said yesterday. You thought that you saw someone riding a dragon and it really spooked you. I could see the panic in your eyes. Does that have any connection?"

And there it was, Heather hit the nail on the head and judging by the calculating look on her fair features, she knew that she had as well. Her body began to tremble. She knew that she could not keep her past to herself any longer. It was far past time for everything to come out anyway.

Astrid took a deep breath, "He was—well, Hiccup was my betrothed."

A rush of air left Heather's lips in the form of a low whistle. It was clearly not what she had been expecting. Her mouth opened and closed several times but no sound came out. Astrid looked down at her dirty, bare feet and watched the cool sand slip between her toes as she wiggled them.

"What happened to him?" Heather asked quietly once she regained her composure.

Astrid took a deep breath to calm herself.

"I was exiled from our tribe for protecting a dragon." She began shakily. Talking of the day of the championship was like ripping a scab from a healing wound. It hurt more than she could say. "In my homeland, dragons are our greatest enemies. The village is at war with them and many people have lost their lives to them, including my own father and Hiccup's mother. So to sympathize with a dragon like I was, it was considered treason. But Hiccup and I, we were able to see past the wild nature in dragons and saw that they were just as scared of losing their lives as we were. They fought because they had to, not because they wanted to. There was one particular dragon that was shot down during a raid and injured, so we were trying to save it. But then, the chief found out and I took the blame so that Hiccup would not be punished. When he heard that I had been banished, he tried to leave with me, but I refused to let him leave with me."

"Why refuse him? Did you not love him?"

The blonde shook her head. It was not nearly that simple.

"That's just it. I think I loved him far too much to just let him to throw his life away to join me in exile. He has responsibilities to the tribe, our people. He is their future. I believe that he is the only one with the power to end the war. He is the only one who can make them see how wrong they are about dragons."

But as the assertive words left her lips, she wrapped her arms tightly around her midsection. Inwardly, the doubt that she had suppressed within in her for two long years was threatening to take hold. Heather's questioning brought it all back to the forefront of her mind. Did she truly make the right choice? Was Berk doomed to always be at war with dragons? It had been two years and she knew nothing of Hiccup's progress, aside from Sneaky's release. Did forcing him to stay make any difference? She supposed that she might never know the truth.

"You thought that you saw him yesterday, didn't you? That's why you panicked."

"I'm not sure exactly what it was that I saw." She sighed. "But I've been dreaming a lot about him lately for some reason. It was probably nothing more than a figment of my imagination."

Heather hummed thoughtfully, "Have you ever thought of what you might do if you ever see him again?"

"It's been a long time—perhaps it's better that I don't."

Because it was no longer a fear of being recognized or even the terms of her banishment that made her stay clear of the island. Now, it was a fear of what she might possible _find_ that occurred in her absence that made her keep her distance. As she said, two years had passed. Hiccup would be twenty-one soon and preparing to take over the chiefdom from his father. The spark of hope that she had had in the beginning of her exile was starting to wane. She was not naïve. She tended to look at things more realistically these days. How much longer could he possibly refuse a wife? Sooner or later, he would have to do his duty and then, would she even _want_ to go back to Berk?

Fortunately, the raw pain in Astrid's voice was enough for Heather to sense that it was time to the end their line of conversation. The brunette silently vowed to never to bring up the topic again, considering that it seemed to cause her companion much more grief than her curiosity was worth. She never thought to ask what kind of dragon the couple had been trying so save, automatically assuming the dragon in question could be no other than Stormfly.

And since Heather never asked, Astrid never told her that the dragon had in fact, been a Night Fury.

—

 **[1] Völundr is a character that I have created for the sake of having someone who could create Heather the axe that is made from Windshear's scales that we see in Race to the Edge. It is not known who made it in canon. My fictional character is named for the legendary Wayland the Smith (Old Norse: Völundr) from Germanic and Norse Mythology, but they are obviously not the same person. Look up his story if you have the chance. It's a really strange one, but pretty interesting!**

—

 **So for those of you who were wondering if Astrid would ever accidently run into Hiccup during her travels, this chapter was your answer. Hiccup made a short cameo here, but of course Astrid is not sure what she actually saw so she has her doubts. Oh Astrid. But as I said in chapter sixteen's A/N, this chapter was written a bit differently from how I normally write chapters. It's honestly meant to be an interlude. It's a lot shorter, much choppier, and includes a few teasers of what is to come/what has been happening elsewhere.**

 **So remember when I said things with life were going to be back to normal? Heh. Funny story about that! As a graduation present, my fiancé surprised me by agreeing to foster (and as of a week ago, officially adopt :D) a dog from our local animal shelter. Max is a sweetheart and so far he's been settling in with us nicely, but I have quickly come to find out that this pooch is a stage five clinger. Let me repeat: STAGE FIVE CLINGER. I literally can't sit down for more than ten minutes without him jumping into my lap (even if I'm on one of our bar stools) and poking his face onto my laptop to force me to play with him, or pet him, or just pay attention to him in general. So…I'm still writing, but it's been slow as I'm being interrupted at regular intervals. Thus, future updates may possibly be affected. We will see. Hopefully as he gets used to us more, his clinginess will subside.**

 **In the meantime, I hope that you all enjoyed this shorter interlude. As always, I would greatly appreciate any feedback that you are willing to give! On another note, I'm SUPER excited for the next chapter. You all should be too! But that's all I'm giving you ;) You'll have to wait to find out what is in store!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Mari.**

 **PS. I just realized that I made a blunder in that I haven't replied to any of the reviews from chapter sixteen. I could've sworn that I did, so oops! My mistake and I will be getting around to that here shortly! :) But I do thank you as always for the wonderful responses!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly ( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen**

He never knew that two years could pass by so quickly.

The days immediately following Astrid's banishment from the island were a bit baffling for Hiccup. To his surprise, the majority of the village was under the impression that she ran away from her shame of releasing Toothless during the championship. The idea that Astrid Hofferson could have felt sympathy for a dragon and released it on purpose was just a rumor, nothing that ever really took root. That was most likely because it was something too outlandish for most to believe, especially considering what dragons had done to her clan. Everyone eventually wrote off the incident as _Hopeless Hofferson_ screwing up again. Only a select few knew the truth of what really happened and those who did, did nothing to correct the village's misconception of the events that took place that day. It was better that the village believed the lie in this instance.

In the two years that followed, so much had changed and yet, so much remained the same. In general terms, Berk had not changed much at all. The village was as hardy as ever. The Berkians still hated dragons. Raids still occurred at least once, sometimes as many as three or four times during a month. There had even been a few raids during the daytime over the past couple of months. There were still more destroyed buildings than there were standing ones. They were still rationing food. However, while Berk remained much the same, Hiccup's life had changed in many ways otherwise.

The villagers regarded him differently now. He had always thought it was funny how people used to scramble out of his father's way, as if they were afraid that he would plow them over if they did not move out of the way fast enough. Ironically, there were a select few in the village that regarded Hiccup in the same way now. Looking back, he could not even say when the villagers' view of him began to change. It was silly though considering most Vikings were twice his size. What kind of damage could a fishbone like him do anyway? Perhaps it was because he did not smile as much as he used to. But how could he? There was a constant cloud of worry hanging over his head. He worried for the village. Did the harvest look promising? Did the storage house's roof get repaired yet? Other times it was the completely trivial things; such as did Gobber ever find his missing hook? Or was Tuffnut planning on blowing up another chicken coop that week? He worried for the dragons. Did his father suspect anything? Was it still a secret? Or was someone going to mistakenly find the cove? Worst of all, he worried for Astrid. Two years had done nothing to lessen the grief he felt over her departure.

At times it all became so much that he felt as though he was being crushed from all sides. He wanted to pull his hair out. It was during those times that he was thankful that his father was still in charge, not him. He was not ready to be chief. Not yet. If it were not for the support he received from his friends, he knew he would have completely lost his mind. He felt old, much older than his twenty-one-year-old body really was. Looking at his reflection, there were days when he was hard pressed to recognize himself. There were lines under his eyes that had not been there before. He had gotten even taller and his shoulders had broadened. His hair was longer, his jaw line had sharpened, and his stubble had grown out. Part of him, the self-conscious part, could not help but wonder if Astrid would like the changes if she saw him now.

But as terrible as he made things out to be, there were still some bright spots.

The part of his life that brought him the most joy, was also the one that he kept behind tight lips and closest to his chest. When Astrid left, Hiccup was not sure why she put so much faith in him. After all, how was he supposed to change the minds of the entire village on his own? But the night in the cove when Hiccup first introduced his friends to Toothless was the start of a new beginning. The instant trust that they had put upon him meant more than he could ever put into words. He had known since he turned fifteen that the teens had started to truly look to him as their future leader, but to see that faith put into action was still mind blowing. He was not alone. For once, something good had come of Tuffnut's whining. Because after all, why couldn't the others have dragons of their own?

Although Berk's overall view on dragons had not changed, the same could not be said for his friends. It had not happened overnight and it had not been easy. In Snotlout's case, he had his behind burned quite a few times and spent a lot of quality time cooling it off in a watering trough—although that was _still_ a regular occurrence. There was a lot of give and take on both sides. Trust was earned and trust was given in return. In the end, only the green Nadder and the Terrible Terror seemed disinterested in forming a bond with a Viking.

If someone would have told him two years ago that his cousin, Snotlout Jorgenson, would form a friendship with a Monstrous Nightmare that he would call Hookfang, he would have thought them mad. But it had happened. He never would have pictured Fishlegs forming a somewhat maternal bond with a female Gronckle named Meatlug. That had happened too. He never would have thought that the twins would teach a Zippleback, affectionately dubbed Barf and Belch, to butt heads just like they did—although in retrospect, out of the three scenarios that _was_ the one most likely. In regards of his friends' attitude towards dragons, he was still shocked with the results.

Eventually, with the others' help, he was able to make due of his promise to Astrid and in the end, actually did one better. He set the arena dragons free. All it took was a cunning plan on their part and the distraction of a dragon raid. No one thought anything of the sudden explosion that erupted in the Kill Ring that fateful night nearly a year and a half ago. Having the combined firepower of a Monstrous Nightmare, a Zippleback, a Gronckle, and a Nadder came in handy. It was the one time Hiccup actually approved of the twins encouraging their dragon to blow something up. The iron gates never even stood a chance. The next morning, when the explosion was investigated, his father and Spitelout blamed it on the dragons from raid.

They never suspected a thing.

Once freed, only the bonded dragons stayed on Berk. To this day, Hiccup knew not the fates of the green Nadder and the Terrible Terror. Ironically, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch took up residence in the cove with Toothless. It was a bit crowded, but they made due.

And speaking of Toothless, things had improved remarkably well in terms of Hiccup's relationship with the Night Fury. The night in the cove had been the start of repairing the bond of trust between the pair. Also, with Fishlegs' help, he was able to improve Toothless' prosthetic to the point where now, flying was no problem. At one point, the pair had even devised a prosthetic that operated completely on its own without the need of a foot pedal as a secret Snoggletog present. Unfortunately, Toothless had not been a fan. So they went back to the original model. That had been the point that Hiccup truly felt connected to his dragon. The fact that Toothless put that much trust in him was the best Snoggletog gift that anyone ever could have gotten him. From that point on, they were thick as thieves.

With the dragons out of captivity and able to fly freely again, the group of five Vikings put their secret alliance to good use. They created the _Dragon Raid Advanced Warning System_ , also known as D.R.A.W.S., because Tuffnut could not be bothered with such a long name for their plan. D.R.A.W.S. was a rotational system, created for the good of both Berk and dragons. It was a clever plan on their part—partially put in motion by the chief himself, although Stoick did not know that. Hiccup had convinced his father to allow the teens to help out with the night watches. Stoick of course did not know exactly _how_ they were doing their _watching_ , he was just so thrilled that his son had finally convinced the twins and Snotlout to do something useful, that he immediately gave his consent without asking further questions.

And so every night, without fail, the teens took turns patrolling Berk by dragonback. If wild dragons were spotted coming to raid Berk from the air, the rider on patrol would send up a distress signal and the riders remaining in the village would race to the watch tower and sound the alarm. Because of them, the village usually had approximately fifteen to twenty minutes advanced notice before a raid. It was not perfect, but it had a higher success rate than the old system. During raids themselves, the riders split up to cover their tracks. One or two riders would offer the village assistance from above on their dragons, redirecting and in some cases, taking out some of the raiding dragons before they even reached the village, while the others remained in the village to cover and let loose newly captured dragons. Every raid they switched and rotated shifts so that no one was ever doing the same job. With all the other chaos going on around them, no one ever missed them.

If it were not for their efforts with D.R.A.W.S., Hiccup was sure that Berk would have fallen into despair the very first _vintr_ that Astrid was gone. Although they still lost much of their foodstuff and infrastructures, the death toll on both sides during raids had been greatly reduced. But for all the good that came of their system, they were only prolonging the inevitable. He knew that his father did not want to face it. Hel, Hiccup did not want to face it either, but Berk was failing. He honestly could not be sure that there would even be anything left for him to be chief of by the time he took over for his father. The village could not hold up forever under the constant raids. Unless they found a way to end the war once and for all, there was little chance that their village would make it another two years.

But what could they do?

It was five Vikings and four dragons against an entire _nest_.

A younger, less wise Hiccup would have gone off head first, dragons blazing, into battle without a second thought. But that Hiccup had learned a few lessons in the time that Astrid had been gone. He was the future of Berk. As much as he wanted to fight for the dragons, he still had to uphold his duty to his people. Going off to fight, dragons blazing, was not what was best for his people. So he did what he could with D.R.A.W.S. Fortunately, time had strengthened the bond between all the teens. Hiccup knew that his friends backed him one hundred percent. So despite their low chances of success, they would continue to fight as they were to preserve Berk and to protect the dragons. He hoped that Astrid, wherever she was, would be proud of his efforts.

Regrettably, Hiccup knew very little of how Astrid was faring. She never did write as he had hoped that she would. The only information he had on her whereabouts came from the most unlikely source—Trader Johann. Hiccup could vividly remember the day the Johann came to the island, seemingly on a normal visit, and pulled him aside. At first, he assumed that Johann was going to share some nonsense story, but then the trader dropped the yak-bomb that a woman from the southern islands had bought the hunting knives that he traded to Johann for squid ink—a woman named Astrid. **[1]** The look that Johann had given him in that moment spoke volumes. It was no coincidence. The Astrid from the southern islands was none other than Astrid Hofferson. Of course he immediately tried to bribe the poor trader for any information that he had on his ex-lover, but Johann was reluctant to divulge anything. It was only after some very uncharacteristic intimidation and a promise to provide him with some interesting trading items that the trader finally told Hiccup about Port, the village where Johann himself first encountered her. According to him, it was a place that she frequented. It was a start, but the trader's parting words did nothing to aid Hiccup's hope of finding her.

 _"_ _She comes and she goes, that girl does. Never stays in one place for long."_

—

He could not help looking around the fishing village, if one could call it that, with his nose wrinkled in complete disgust.

It had taken several days, but they finally found the village that Johann had told him about and truthfully, Hiccup hoped he was mistaken. If this was the same Port that Johann told him about, it was a terrible place. He could not even begin to imagine Astrid frequenting a place such as this. It was dirty. It was smelly. It was dangerous. He had already been harassed by a scantily clad woman asking if he wanted to have a _good time_ and nearly knocked out by a man reeking of ale because apparently, he mistook Hiccup for a man who stole his yak. And it only got worse from there. He had to fend off yet another man who tried to steal Inferno from his belt. Then there was the fact that the entire town held the rancid odor of rotten fish and cabbage. It smelt worse than Mildew's farm on a balmy _sumar_ day. It had even Snotlout turning green and his cousin usually had a stomach made of iron, unless barf was involved—note: the bodily function, not the dragon.

When Hiccup and Toothless first set out to find Port, he expected that they would go alone. That plan had ultimately been foiled however, when his cousin somehow caught wind of it. Hiccup made a mental note right then and there to never to tell Fishlegs any kind of secret ever again. But instead of stopping him, Snotlout decided that he and Hookfang were going to join Hiccup on his search, arguing that it would be suspicious if Hiccup disappeared for two days on his own. It was a complete turnaround, one that still left Hiccup feeling uncertain. Snotlout had hated Astrid for as long as he could remember. He had never approved of his cousin's feelings for the Hofferson girl. But ever since Snotlout found out about how _she_ had been the first to ride a dragon and how _she_ had refused to let Hiccup run away with her, it was almost as if his cousin gained some sort of newfound respect for the exiled blonde.

And so under the guise of a cousinly bonding fishing trip— _he still could not believe his father had fallen for that excuse_ —the two found themselves on an interesting adventure. The south was much different than the northern islands. It was warmer and as such, the people dressed differently. Hiccup was sweating profusely under all of his heavy Berkian furs. The southerners clothing was not as utilitarian as Berk's. They dressed more lavishly, more like Trader Johann. The villagers spoke differently as well. It was still unmistakably Norse, but the southerners held an accent that sounded strange to Hiccup's ears. He had to really stop and listen to understand them.

"What about that guy there?"

Hiccup frowned, "Which guy? There are about a hundred _guys_ in this marketplace."

"The one with the hammer stall over there." Snotlout replied with a mischievous grin. At Hiccup's pointed glare, he added, "What? Maybe he knows something."

"Ah, no, I think you just want to go look for a new hammer. We're here to look for Astrid, or have you forgotten that already?" His cousin just blinked at him and Hiccup resisted the urge to slap his hand to his forehead. "You know, because that's whole reason why we came to this village in the first place? To find Astrid? You know what, never mind."

 _Was it too late to find the man with the missing yak again and let him have a go at Snotlout?_

They bickered for a while before eventually coming to a compromise on the hammer stall. Hiccup would speak with the stall's owner about Astrid and Snotlout could look at the man's hammer selection. In the end, Snotlout walked away with a brand new hammer, but Hiccup was still no closer to finding Astrid. The man knew nothing. Hiccup even provided him of a rough sketch that he drew from memory and the man still did not recognize her.

He was quickly finding out that most of the villagers, even the business owners, paid little attention to their clients and forgot a person's face in about the span of five minutes. This theory was confirmed when the man with the yak problem indeed found them again and this time, Hiccup pointed him in Snotlout's direction as payback. Snotlout did not find Hiccup's prank funny when he came out of the unexpected tussle with a black eye.

The search for Astrid seemed utterly hopeless, until they came across a seedy little tavern towards the center of town. A small bell overhead rang as they opened the doors to the darkened establishment, but it could barely be heard over the spirited medley that over half the room was chanting as two men engaged in a full blown sword fight. None of the other tavern-goers or the staff paid the rowdy group any mind. One of the barmaids even gracefully ducked out of the way as one of the men lost his grip on his sword and it went flying through the air, embedding itself into what was _thankfully_ an empty chair. Snotlout and Hiccup exchanged an incredulous glance at the display. It was as if this kind of behavior was the norm! The men were more inebriated than the drunkest of Berkians during a wedding or celebratory feast, and apparently some of these villagers drank like this day in and day out if the staffs' unimpressed reactions had anything to say about it.

Once again, Hiccup secretly hoped that they were in the wrong village.

"What can I get ye?" A disinterested voice suddenly asked. The Berkian heir's head snapped away from the group of men and turned to find a perspiring man nearly three times his size glaring at him and Snotlout from behind the bar. "What? Are ye and yer friend deaf? What do ye want te drink?" He repeated when Hiccup continued to stare at him in surprise.

Snotlout opened his mouth, no doubt order some kind of malt beverage, but Hiccup quickly cut him off. "Nothing for us, sir." The last thing he needed was to drag his drunk cousin home on a temperamental Monstrous Nightmare. He momentarily hoped that Hookfang and Toothless were keeping out of trouble where they had left them.

"Aye, then get away from the bar if yer not goin' te order. Yer holding up the line!" The man spat irritably, tossing a rag over his shoulder and made a show of his back on the Berkian pair.

"Wait! We're looking for someone."

The man abruptly turned back around, his eyebrow raised in curiosity. Hiccup reached within his leather jerkin and pulled out the sketch that he had of Astrid. He carefully unfolded the worn piece of paper and flattened it out on the counter for the man to see, mindful to avoid any wet spots.

"Have you seen this woman?" The man ran a hand over his dirty face as if trying to remember. Taking it as a good sign, Hiccup continued, "Her name is Astrid. She's about his height—" He pointed to Snotlout, who began to sputter petulantly in insult. "Oh shut up Snotlout, you know she's your height—she has a slight build, a round face with bright blue eyes, and a long blonde braid."

The man suddenly began to chuckle, "Aye, I know her alright. She's the blonde bitch with the shiny axe always strapped to her back."

Snotlout snorted.

In a surge of sudden anger, Hiccup reached across the counter and grabbed the sweaty man by fistfuls of his shirt. "Careful, that's my _wife_ you are speaking of." He hissed.

It was a lie, but the man did not need to know that.

"Left you, did she?" The man taunted, not intimidated in the least by the Berkian heir's threat. He returned Hiccup's glare with a thoughtful sneer. "My apologies, tiny sir. Took me a while to remember her face 'cause yer sketch ain't accurate. Her hair's different. Wears it up these days." He made a circular motion around his head, as if wrapping a braid around it. Hiccup's eyes widened and his mind concluded the impossible realization of— _marriage braids?_ At seeing Hiccup's shaken expression, the man continued with a roguish glint in his eye. "Ye won't find her here now though. I haven't seen her or her mouthy dark haired friend in about a fortnight."

Hiccup slowly released the man and announced in a dazed voice that they were leaving. The room felt as though it was closing in on him. It was suddenly much too loud. Yet, he could not force his feet to move. It was as if they were shackled down to the floorboards below them. He knew he should be suspicious of whether the man was actually telling the truth, but if he was—well, his mind raced with several possibilities that he did not have the heart to face.

Sensing his cousin's disorientation, Snotlout placed a supporting hand on his shoulder and turned them towards the door. For once, Hiccup allowed his cousin's guidance and stumbled away from the bar and the grubby man, his breathing forced and his heart suddenly feeling much too heavy. The man at the bar grinned, showing off his rotten yellow teeth, and mock waved to them as they exited.

Fortunately, Snotlout was wise enough to keep his mouth shut about the incident. Silence reined as the cousins left the village behind and made their way back to the deserted section of beach on the far side of the island where they had left Toothless and Hookfang earlier that morning. Fortunately, the dragons were right where they left them and did not seem to have gotten themselves into any trouble while their riders were gone. At least Hiccup could count his blessings for that. In fact, both dragons were dozing quietly on the warm sands, allowing the heat of the blazing sun to reflect off their shiny scales.

Toothless was the first to wake as they approached, peaking open a single chartreuse eye as the sounds of the Berkian pair's footsteps neared. Upon realizing that one of the pairs of footsteps belonged to his rider, the Night Fury rose and bounded over to his side. Hiccup smiled sadly, but it did not reach his eyes. Of course he was happy to see his best friend, but the larger part of him was too distracted by the barman's words to properly greet his dragon. Ever observant, Toothless warbled in concern.

"I'm fine, bud." The auburn haired man lied. "It's just been a long day."

"We should get going. It's a long way back."

Snotlout's uncharacteristically quiet voice rose from behind him and he turned to find that his stocky cousin had already jumped onto the makeshift saddle on Hookfang's neck, seemingly ready to go. He was regarding him with a worried, almost pitied expression that made Hiccup angry. Not needing any further encouragement to get as far away from the island as possible, the redhead swung up into the saddle and within seconds, the Night Fury and his rider shot up into the sky. Hookfang and Snotlout were not far behind. Once in the familiar territory of the clouds, Hiccup leaned back flat against Toothless' back and stared blankly up at the passing fluffy clouds above him. Unwarranted, the memory of his first time riding a dragon—Stormfly—and Astrid's fascination with running her hands through the clouds sprung to the forefront of his mind. Toothless warbled again in concern, but Hiccup ignored him. He was too lost in his racing thoughts.

It was not until they were crossing over the familiar waters of the Barbaric Archipelago several hours later that Snotlout finally voiced the very question that had been nagging Hiccup ever since they left the tavern, "What do you think the guy meant by _dark haired friend_?"

Hiccup frowned, "I have no idea."

Snotlout was quiet for a few moments.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Hic."

"I hope the Gods that you're right."

—

The encounter on Port had been several months ago and Hiccup was still no closer to finding Astrid than when she left nearly two years ago. He never did return to the village of Port again, but he had flown down south at least two more times since his and Snotlout's first trip. Unfortunately, he never saw hide nor hair of Astrid, her Nadder, or the dark haired friend that the barman had mentioned.

The idea that Astrid might have found a new companion during her exile was yet another source of worry for Hiccup. He was not sure how much truth he should put to the words of a man working in a tavern, but it did plant a small seed of doubt in his mind. Ruffnut always told him that he should have more faith when he let those doubts start to get to him, but he was not so sure. He wondered if perhaps he was being unrealistic in his views and unwavering loyalty to her.

Two years was a long time to be on one's own.

Had she given up and found someone else?

He knew that he had not. His heart was still completely owned by her. It was why he continued to fight as desperately as he did for the village. Their contract may have been nulled with her banishment, but he still held out hope that perhaps something could be worked out if that banishment was lifted. It was not just his duty to his people that made him fight so hard to prolong the village's existence, it was also the dream that perhaps one day they could have a future on Berk. Love drove him. It was the reason why he continued to search for her despite his doubts. He loved her, he always had, and he did not think he could ever stop.

However, his eventual need to provide the village with an heir was a duty that he knew he could not ignore forever. Of course, the naggings of his father was the main reminder of that. But the other reminder, was his friends themselves.

Aside from bonding with their dragons, there had been a few other changes that had occurred amongst the teens over the past two years. Perhaps the most exciting change was Ruffnut and Fishlegs' marriage. The Thorsten clan finally came around the Ingermans' offer, much to Fishlegs and Ruffnut's relief. In fact, that whole business was pretty _old_ news considering the marriage took place rather promptly once the negotiations between the two clans were taken care of. If Hiccup remembered correctly, there wedding took place only a few months after Astrid's banishment. It had been a massive source of tension between Ruffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout for quite a while, not to mention a huge blow to the Jorgenson clan to be beaten out by the Ingermans'.

Luckily, in the past year, things had gotten better on that front. Spitelout Jorgenson arranged a marriage for his son to a girl from a neighboring tribe, a petite redhead by the name of Eira. She and Snotlout had married just a few months ago, and although Snotlout had been hesitant about it at first, Hiccup could see that the marriage was having a positive impact on his cousin. Eira was fierce, but very down to earth at the same time. She had exactly what it took to take Snotlout down a notch when he was being arrogant and childish. Even better, she knew about the dragons as well—which was probably for the best because hiding a Monstrous Nightmare from his wife was probably not in Snotlout's best intentions. Eira was not actively part of the riders, but she did her part on Berk. Her role was to divert things in the village, secretly releasing captured dragons and covering the rider's disappearances.

Unfortunately for Hiccup, with three out of four of his friends now married—they had given up on Tuffnut marrying anyone after the chicken incident—everyone in the village was now looking to him. Who would the future chief's wife be? Consequently, an annoyingly frequent argument often took place in the Haddock household.

Such as now.

It was always the same thing. Stoick insisted that Hiccup needed to find a new bride, listing the names of several eligible women both from Berk and other tribes, but Hiccup always outright refused to even consider anyone else. Their arguments usually arose from the most insignificant of things—a comment from someone in the village or the announcement of another betrothal. On this particular day, it had been the latter of the two.

They had been quietly eating _dagmál_ when Stoick slyly mentioned the betrothal of some boy in the village to some other girl in the village. That was usually all it took. Things always escalated pretty quickly. Now, their meal was abruptly forgotten. They were not even seated at the table any more. Stoick was pacing back and forth in front of the door, no doubt to keep his son from just walking out, and Hiccup was on the other side of the room, glaring stubbornly into the roaring fire lit in the hearth.

"Even ye cousin married before ye!" Hiccup nearly snorted because _that_ actually was a new one. His father had never brought up Snotlout during their arguments before. Stoick continued on his tirade, oblivious to his son's growing amusement. "He always thought he'd end up with the Thorsten girl, but look how great his marriage to Eira turned out!"

"Yer father's got a point."

Hiccup turned to look at the room's other inhabitant, Gobber the Belch, with a look of incredulous betrayal on his face. Gobber was one of the few that knew the truth of Astrid's banishment and the implications of it, but generally, he kept to himself in times like this and did not take sides. Normally, the master blacksmith was simply a silent bystander to make sure that the two Haddock men did not get too heated—probably a wise decision.

"Ye have to face the facts, Hiccup. Yer twenty-one, a man now. I know ye don't want to think about it, but Berk will eventually need another heir and before ye start—it ain't gonna be one of Snotlout's kids if yer father has anything to say about it." Gobber reasoned.

Stoick barked a small laugh and nodded unreservedly in agreement.

Hiccup averted his gaze and scowled into the flames of the hearth once more. "You both already know my answer. I remain faithful to Astrid and only Astrid."

"It's been two years!" Stoick exploded in disbelieving anger, as if he could not grasp Hiccup's answer even though it was the same response he gave every time. "You don't even know if she's been faithful to _ye_!"

His father's jab hit too close to his deepest fears. His sharp reply came so fast, that both older men winced when the sarcastic retort left his lips. "You know, if you wanted heirs so badly then maybe you should've thought about that before you banished my betrothed from the island."

Gobber held up his hands in a peaceful gesture, no doubt deciding that he had said enough.

"She committed treason." Stoick pushed forward, ignoring his son's mounting frustration.

"Did you even give her a chance to explain herself?"

"She befriended that Night Fury. She named it, for Odin's sake! Ye have to get over her, son. Even with her dowry, she has no claim to it now. The contract is void. A chief must do his duty to his people. Ye will find another bride and ye will provide the tribe with another heir."

"That's not want _Mom_ would have wanted." Hiccup spat unthinkingly.

It was a low blow, but he relished the blanched look on his father's face at the unexpected words. Even Gobber appeared equally stunned. He was usually not so callous, it was just not in his nature, but he could not stand the fact that his father was just ordering him around with absolutely no regard for his personal feelings on the matter. He was just expected to go along with it. Once again, the good of the tribe came before his only son. He respected his father, he truly did, and usually he would take his father's orders without much complaint. But not this time. This was different. When it came to Astrid and his feelings for her, he would remain steadfast for as long as he could. Luckily his father seemed to respect him just as much and for all his nagging, thankfully did not _force_ the issue on him just yet. As the chief, he very well could have, but for some reason, he had not. Hiccup thanked all the Gods for that one mercy.

For a few moments, there was only quiet. When Hiccup finally turned to look his father in the eye, he was unsurprised to see that the chieftain's face was bright red and the vein in his forehead was poking out. Yet, beneath all the fury, the raw pain etched in his father's emerald eyes was unmistakable. His harsh response had hit its mark. Still, Hiccup did not feel remorse for the words because they were true. His mother had wanted him and Astrid to be together and at one point, so had Herleva Hofferson—although, he was not sure what her feelings on the matter were any longer; she kept to herself nowadays. He had never really known his mother, but deep in his heart he knew that if she were still alive, Valka Haddock would have been on his side in all this.

Stoick finally opened his mouth, no doubt to respond with some scathing comment about Hiccup needing to watch his tongue, when suddenly a loud commotion came from the village square. It was so loud in fact, that they heard it clearly through the walls of their hall. Their argument was abruptly forgotten. Fearing yet another daytime dragon raid—the village was barely recovered from the last one the day before—Stoick, Hiccup, and Gobber raced from the Haddock's hall, only to discover a large crowd gathering around something down in the town square.

"What in Loki's name is going on down there?" Stoick bellowed.

Hiccup shrugged, he was just as baffled as his father. "No idea."

"I swear, if it has anything to do with the Thorsten boy and that blasted chicken again—"

" _Chief!_ "

The call came from the familiar form of Hoark as he rushed up the hill towards them. He was completely out of breath by the time he reached them, and such, had to pause for just a moment to catch his breath.

"Chief—!" He started again but Stoick impatiently cut him off.

"What is it, Hoark? Out with it!"

"There—there's a visitor in the square wanting to speak with ye, Stoick!"

The Berkian heir exchanged a wary glance with his father and with that one glance, Hiccup knew that they were thinking the same thing.

 _Dagur_.

When news of Oswald the Agreeable's death reached Berk nearly a year and a half ago, Hiccup instantly knew that the former Berserker chief's death was no accident. He suspected that somehow Dagur was involved and his father had similar suspicions. However, when Dagur came to the island asking for Berk to renew its alliance with the Berserkers, they had pushed those suspicions aside and signed the treaty anyway. It was in Berk's best interest not to start a conflict with the Berserkers on top of the already devastating dragon raids. Besides, their suspicions on Dagur's hand in his father's death were probably for nothing. For all they knew, Oswald the Agreeable could have croaked from something as common as old age or disease, not necessarily his son's own dagger.

Then, approximately a year ago, a surprisingly irritable Trader Johann brought them the news that Dagur was building up a large armada and had been raiding small villages in the southern islands for all their possessions to pay for it. The trader warned them that it was only a matter of time before Dagur started looking to the north, especially now that his efforts were constantly thwarted by two self-proclaimed vigilantes. Although they had pressed for more information, the trader remained strangely tight lipped on the subject after his initial warning. As such, not much was known about the pair that constantly sunk Dagur's loot ships considering they did not leave survivors, but Hiccup had heard plenty of rumors.

And some of those rumors were too outlandish for even Hiccup to believe.

The masses of people gathered in the square instantly parted for their chief, his son, and the master blacksmith as they made their way towards the strange looking figure standing confidently in the middle of the square, seemingly not giving a damn that they were the center of attention for nearly half of the village. As they closed in, Hiccup took a moment to examine the figure and as he did, he suddenly wondered if he and his father were wrong about who they suspected the visitor was. The figure did not look like any Berserker that he had ever seen. For one, the stranger cut too lithe of a figure to be a Berserker. The Berserkers tended to have much larger, stockier builds. This person was thin and rather short for a grown man, leading Hiccup to wonder if it was perhaps a young boy who had been sent. Still, the armor was all wrong. The mail that this figure wore was nothing more than a fitted dark brown leather cloak lined with fur and a pair of dark leggings tucked into knee high leather boots. Every square inch of the wearer's body was covered, including their hands, which were concealed by a pair of thick leather gloves.

By the time that the trio came to a halt mere feet from their unannounced visitor, Hiccup was stumped. The stranger looked utterly foreign to anything that Hiccup could associate a Northman to. They bore no tribal symbol anywhere on their person as far as he could tell. Even their weapon was odd—a sort of ragtag looking double ended blade that folded into itself to form something similar to an axe. The blade was made of some kind of a shiny, metallic material that Hiccup had never seen before. It was a crude piece of work, but at the very least, he was intrigued by the uniqueness of the item. A quick glance out of the corner of his eye told him that Gobber too was eying the strange weapon with barely concealed curiosity. **[2]** But perhaps the most suspicious item of all was the garb covering the stranger's face. A dark hood and scarf concealed most of the wearer's features from view.

"Stranger, state yer intentions for coming on our island unannounced and masked like a bandit."

The chief's words cut an abrupt silence through the crowd. Several villagers even flinched. Hiccup himself frowned at the less than courteous greeting. Normally his father was not so…brash. Luckily, the visitor did not seem put off by his father's harsh tone, or the insinuation for that matter.

"I caught a ride from Trader Johann. I needed to speak to the chief of Berk."

The stranger's voice was slightly muffled by the scarf covering their mouth, but Hiccup immediately raised an eyebrow. The tone sounded almost… _feminine_. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father relax slightly at the mention of Trader Johann's name. If Trader Johann had brought them here, perhaps it was not a Berserker after all. Maybe it was just some wayward traveler.

"Aye, that would be me—Stoick the Vast." His father finally answered.

The hooded figure nodded, "Yes, good. We must speak in private."

Stoick's bushy eyebrows rose in surprise and he asked, "For what reason?"

"I've heard of your dragon problem and offer a solution to your troubles."

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted into hushed murmurs at the bold declaration.

Hiccup knew he should have been more careful, more reserved like his father in the situation, but his jaw dropped open in shock before he could even think about schooling his features. Once again he was struck with—who _was_ this person? And what could they possibly know that he himself did not already. Did they know the location of the nest? Even then, what solution could they possibly give that would end the dragon raids? He had already been through every scenario, spent many sleepless nights going over thousands of plans. But in the end, they were all too much of a gamble.

It was impossible.

He and his father exchanged another quick glance. Should they hear the stranger out, or deny the request for council? Hiccup offered his father the most inconspicuous shrug that he possibly could in the situation. He had no idea how to proceed and ultimately, it was still his father's decision. Stoick shifted his gaze to observe the reactions of the rest of his people. They seemed equally as stunned, but also a bit hopeful by the declaration. It was no secret that Berk had been searching for a solution to end the raids for many, many years. They would do anything, listen to anyone at this point, regardless of the impossibility of a good outcome. The people wanted an end to the fight just as much as the council did, and that made Hiccup very, very nervous. His hands began to shake as Stoick finally turned back to the stranger and spit out a series of questions.

"Why should we trust ye? Who are ye? From what tribe do ye hail?"

The masked visitor was silent for several moments in the wake of the Chief's inquisition, almost as if they were pondering how to answer. But then their head tilted just so, shifting their gaze from the hulking form of the chief to Hiccup himself. The auburn haired man suddenly found himself staring into a pair of striking blue eyes, the only feature not hidden by the hood and scarf. They were mesmerizing. He could not force himself to look away from those bright cerulean orbs for anything. When the stranger finally began to answer Stoick's questions, it was as if they were speaking directly to him now rather than his father.

"I'm a wanderer. I don't belong to any specific tribe." They paused purposely and continued to hold Hiccup's gaze meaningfully, as if trying to tell him that what they were about to say next was supposed to mean something to him specifically. "My birth name is of no importance to you, but you may call me Stormfly if you wish."

Now, that _did_ mean something to him.

The crowd exploded into whispers once more, but Hiccup barely heard it over the blood that suddenly came rushing forth to his ears. It took every ounce of self-control in his body not to immediately demand an explanation. There was no way that it was possible. It had to be a coincidence. She had not come back to Berk, not like this. But then he was forced to resist to urge to lean over and spill the contents of his stomach onto the grass at his feet as the realization struck him— _her eyes_.

Unmistakable. It really was her.

Astrid.

* * *

 **[1] So, really funny side note here. As I was writing this sentence, I was going to put the phrase "** ** _drop a bombshell_** **," but then I thought that that is not a phrase that really fits in with the time period. Obviously, bombshells are not really relevant to Vikings. So I turn to my fiancé and ask him for a more Viking relevant synonym to "** ** _drop a bombshell_** **." We go through several—** ** _drop a catapult, drop a boulder, drop a Gronckle, wrap you in chains and drop you to the bottom of the ocean_** **—and then we came up with the golden phrase, "** ** _drop a yak_** **" and well, that escalated to "** ** _yak-bomb_** **," which is still not historically relevant, but considering we laughed about it for a** **solid five minutes** **, I had no choice but to use it. No one will probably find this as funny as we did, but hey, there is no harm in sharing the humor.**

 **[2] The weapon described here is Heather's axe that was made from Windshear's scales in the previous chapter. This was specifically put in here for a couple of reasons. 1) It would have been too obvious for Astrid to come to Berk wielding the axe that Hiccup made for her. She's trying to hide her identity. 2) To imply that Hiccup and the rest of Berk have never seen a Razorwhip before, considering that they can't identify the dragon scales and mistake them for a kind of metal. This point will come into play again later on.**

* * *

 **Hopefully this was not too much of an information overload, but this chapter was long overdue. I hope that it answers your curiosity on what occurred on Berk in Astrid's absence. There have been a lot of changes! There are also some interesting things hidden in this chapter that elude to the Red Death and the nest. I'm curious to see whether or not anyone caught them. If not, it's okay. All will be revealed in chapter twenty :)**

 **A lot of emphasis was put on Hiccup's duty to marry and have an heir in this chapter. Why? Well, it is actually a parallel to some of his reactions in HTTYD2. In canon, Hiccup struggles with the idea of becoming chief of Berk. This may be partially because it seems as though Stoick hasn't given him any formal training in the series. In fact, it seems as though Stoick is just gently nudging him into becoming a leader through things like the dragon training academy, the Edge, etc. In** ** _Drengskapr_** **, Hiccup's training to one day take over Berk has been much more intensive and direct. His fear of leadership is something he has been having to face head on for nearly seven years at this point in the story. Thus, the responsibility of becoming Berk's leader does not bother him** ** _as much_** **. He still fears it, but he also knows what is going to be expected of him. What does bother him however, is the expectation to provide a new heir once he is chief, especially with someone who is not Astrid. So there's that. It wasn't just an argument for the sake of an argument between the two Haddocks in this case.**

 **We're picking up speed here. With the conclusion of this chapter, we have ended the second arc of** ** _Drengskapr_** **. The ending of this chapter is probably a little confusing. Many of you are probably wondering what caused Astrid to suddenly end up on Berk, especially considering that at the end of chapter seventeen she seemed against going back at all. Rest assured, you didn't miss anything. Chapter nineteen will go back in time a bit to show us just how we have finally reached this point in this story—Astrid back on Berk with a supposed solution to Berk's** ** _dragon problem_** **. It will be a short second interlude-like chapter, but the chapter nineteen will begin the third and final arc to the story.**

 **Are you ready? :)**

 **—** **Mari.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Chapter Nineteen**

Astrid's day was not going according to plan. Her misfortune had begun the instant she woke that morning with a painful crick in her neck and it only spiraled downward from there.

Her stomach chose that exact moment to growl noisily, serving as a reminder of her hunger. Her mouth began to water at the thought of the delicious meal that they would have when she and Stormfly made it back to their camp for the night. They had captured a boar, a very large boar. In fact, it was one of the biggest that Astrid had ever seen and she had caught herself—with a help from Stormfly, of course. She glanced down for what felt like the hundredth time at the creature clutched below in Stormfly's talons. With the way her day was going, she would not put it passed the Gods to strike again with more misfortune. The captured boar was perhaps the only bright spot to her day.

Her mind involuntarily wandered back to the events that had transpired before her hunt. She and Heather had attacked one of Dagur's loot ships that afternoon. It was a routine mission and everything was going fine until Heather had made the mistake of stepping too close to a Berserker's sword.

" _It's just a scratch_." Heather had protested weakly, pointedly ignoring the blood pooling down her arm. " _I'm fine! I've got this_!"

But it quickly became apparent that Heather's injury was more than 'just a scratch'.

They had pulled back after that, not wanting to push their luck any further. The cut on Heather's arm had not been too deep thankfully, but it was still something that needed to be tended to as soon as possible. So while Heather returned back to base camp to dress her wound, Astrid lagged behind to hunt for their dinner. Instead of the typical meal of fish or rabbit, Astrid had set her sights on a kind of much larger game. She felt as though they needed a special meal to raise their spirits and get their strength back up after their failed mission. It was not often that they failed, and that made that day's loss even more frustrating.

Failure meant that innocent people were still a risk.

And that thought was not something that Astrid could sleep easy on.

It had been several weeks since she had told Heather about her banishment from her former home and thus far, life had gone on as normal. She and Heather continued to follow Dagur's movements and met up with Trader Johann every few days for updates. Her earlier fears of Heather treating her different after knowing her secret turned out to be completely unwarranted. Heather treated her the same as ever and in fact, the two had not spoken of Astrid's banishment since that morning on the beach when Heather had first questioned for.

For that, Astrid was thankful.

With the secret between them no longer bogging her down, Astrid rested a bit easier now when they were in the North. Her dreams and memories of Berk did not haunt her as they had before. She realized that she could live her new life without the constant worry of her secret being accidentally found out by Heather. She now had nothing to be afraid of. Sure, she was banished, but she was not breaking the Chief's conditions by returning to the Barbaric Archipelago. Stoick had banished her from Berk, not the entire Archipelago. As long as she did not step foot on the island itself, she would not be in any trouble.

Admittedly, her current location _could_ be pushing that line. They were so close. All around her were familiar sights. She knew just how to navigate through the maze of sea stacks. She knew the waters like the back of her hand, both from sailing on them and from flying above them before her banishment. She knew that just a little bit closer and she could find herself in a load of trouble if she were spotted. Their mission had brought them up into the North again, rather close to Berk at that, but she had convinced Heather to set up their camp a few islands away from her old home without raising the other girl's suspicions. Although Heather now knew that Astrid had been raised in the northern islands, she still did not know exactly which tribe her exiled companion was from. Astrid honestly would have told her if she questioned her about it, but Heather never asked.

Astrid took a deep breath of the crisp ocean air and closed her eyes. Her grip fell away from Stormfly's crest and she stretched her arms out away from her body as if she had her own pair of wings. She trusted Stormfly not to let her fall.

"How does it feel to be back in familiar territory, girl?" She murmured her dragon.

Stormfly trilled in delight.

Astrid had just enough time to grab ahold of Stormfly's crest again before the Nadder made of show of performing a barrel roll trick in the air. The blonde Viking squealed in uncharacteristic girlish delight and held on tight until Stormfly was finished showing off and they were flying level again.

"Yeah, yeah, you're excited. I get it!" Astrid laughed as she peered down over Stormfly's side to make sure that their dinner had survived the unexpected aerial move. Luckily, it had. The boar was still clutched tightly within her Nadder's claws. "You know, maybe you and Windshear will even get some of this catch. I think there will be more than enough to go around. How does that sound?"

But Stormfly did not reply as Astrid expected. In fact, the Nadder had suddenly gone stiff. Astrid could literally feel Stormfly's muscles coiling with tension. She glanced around them in alarm, wondering what had set her dragon on alert. She could see nothing, but the air around them began to feel much too thick and a strange humming sound reached her ears. Confused, the blonde Viking glanced around again, only to spot a pod of dragons flying towards them through a break in the cloud cover. Her heart began to pound anxiously in her chest. Unlike the group of dragons that she had had seen several weeks ago— _the group that she suspected had been led by Hiccup and Toothless_ —this group of dragons was much, much larger. In fact, it was nearly on par with the number of dragons that one would see during a raid on Berk. Astrid now knew that Stormfly had gone so utterly stiff. There were far too many of them to avoid and they were gaining on them by the second.

There was no way to dodge them.

Soon, they would be surrounded by wild dragons.

Astrid flattered herself against her dragon and tightened her grip, readying herself for impact. It was not a moment too soon. Just as she did, a yellow and green Monstrous Nightmare suddenly burst through a cloud and appeared on their left. Astrid shrieked in surprise. But the Nightmare paid her no mind. Instead, it hissed and snapped at Stormfly, as if reprimanding her for flying in the wrong direction. Stormfly made to snap back at the larger dragon, but the arrival of several other wild dragons of all shapes and sizes stopped her. Astrid held on tight as Stormfly was forced to bob and weave between the incoming dragons, trying to avoid colliding with them. But Stormfly was suddenly forced to halt when a large Deadly Nadder with green and orange colored scales cut them off and began hissing at them, much as the Monstrous Nightmare had. Instead of snapping back at the dragon, as she had with the Stoker Class dragon, Stormfly abruptly changed course to fly alongside the other Nadder.

"Stormfly? _Stormfly_! What are you doing?" Astrid cried worriedly. "Our camp is the other way!"

But Stormfly did not listen.

The blonde Viking had little choice but to hold on as Stormfly fell into line with the large pod of wild dragons. Astrid hugged her belly as flat as she could to her dragon's back in attempt to make herself less noticeable. Surrounded by wild dragons, she was not about to take any chances.

From her hunched position, her blue eyes darted about and took in the very dangerous position that she was in. Luckily, the dragons seemed to care little about the small Viking within their midst. It gave Astrid the chance to study them. The dragons around her were all carrying some sort of catch with them. Thinking back, Astrid remembered that the yellow Monstrous Nightmare from earlier had been carrying a yak. Glancing to her left, the green and orange Nadder currently flying beside them had a boar clutched in its talons like Stormfly did. Looking back ahead, Astrid saw that a crimson colored Snafflefang was carrying two sheep. She would have paid the sheep little mind, but one small detail made her turn back and take a second look. She tilted her head slightly as she looked again at the sheep within the Snafflefang's grasp—one was white and the other was black. Black sheep were rare, but she knew a certain silent farmer back on Berk who had a prized black sheep. **[1]**

Suddenly, it all clicked.

"They must have just come from Berk." Astrid murmured aloud in astonishment, considering it was still early afternoon. She had never known the dragons to raid during the day. Things must have gotten worse. "Oh, poor Sven."

But she did not dwell on Silent Sven's lost black sleep for long.

Her brain began to go into overdrive. She now knew why the other dragons seemed to pay her little mind. They were hauling in their kill. They likely assumed that Astrid was part of Stormfly's catch and there were so many dragons, they probably did not even notice that Stormfly was an unfamiliar dragon that had randomly joined their ranks.

This was much more worrisome that she had originally anticipated. If these dragons were indeed coming back from a raid on Berk, they were likely returning to their nest. The dragons' nest! Astrid suddenly felt torn. The dragons' nest was the thing that Vikings had sought to find since they first claimed Berk as their own. Part of her was anxious to find out where exactly this giant dragon's nest was, while the other part of her was terrified for her own safety in the whole mess. She was one Viking against hundreds of dragons and if they turned on her, deciding that she was _dinner_ —well, that would not bode well for her.

Even worse, Stormfly was not responding to her. Astrid patted her side and spoke softly to her, begging the dragon to snap out of it and turn around, but it was as if the Deadly Nadder was in some sort of trance. In the end, the blonde had no other choice but to hunker down and wait for the dragons to reach their nest. She could only hope that Heather would not worry too much about her and Stormfly's prolonged absence.

It felt like hours before Stormfly suddenly dropped in altitude along with the rest of the dragons and began weaving through a series of closely spaced sea stacks. The sea stacks gave way to a rocky island with a vast mountain at the very center of it. The glowing orange substance spewing from the mouth told her it was a volcano. Her heart raced as the dragons all flew up and then descended down into a large crack on the side of the volcano. She found herself abruptly plunged into darkness. It was much too warm and she felt dizzy. The sounds of flapping wings and growls of other dragons only intensified with the loss of her vision. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the dim light, but when they did, her entire body began to shake with anxiety.

They had made it.

They were _inside_ the dragons' nest.

Instead of following the other dragons, Stormfly veered away over to the ledge near the volcano walls. Astrid watched in confusion as the other dragons began to drop all of their food down into the depths of the volcano, where it fell into the fiery haze, never to be seen again. It was strange. The blonde Viking could not fathom why they were not eating any of their food. They were just wasting it by dropping it down into a huge hole! It did not make any sense. She continued to watch as a Gronckle flew down over the haze and regurgitated a single fish down into the depths. The Gronckle remained hovered over the haze for a moment, appearing utterly exhausted. It was the wrong move for the Gronckle.

A monstrous roar filed the mountain, shaking the walls and making her ears rang painfully at the sonorous sound. All around them, the dragons within the cave began to cower and hide, but the Gronckle was not quick enough. In a matter of seconds, something rose up from the depths of the volcano and snapped up the Boulder Class dragon as if it were nothing more than a tiny fly. Stormfly crooned in worry and Astrid gasped in sheer honor at what _truly_ lay within the volcano's fiery, cavernous depths.

Suddenly, it was so obviously clear to the Viking. She did not know why it did not occur to her earlier. The dragons' nest functioned just like a giant bee hive did. All the smaller, worker dragons gathered food for the giant Queen that controlled them. The dragons that raided Berk were desperate. It went beyond their natural instinct to avoid humans, something she had discovered during her travels in the south. These dragons, they had no choice. It was kill or be killed. They had to collect whatever they could for the Queen or be eaten themselves. They held no grudge against Vikings, as Berk liked to believe. Berk was just in an ill-fated place. The Viking settlement was the most convenient place to get the food that they so desperately needed.

"Stormfly, we've got to get out of here," Astrid hissed to her Nadder, hoping that the sight of the Queen would have shaken her dragon out of whatever trance she was in.

Luckily, it had.

While the Queen was busy snapping at a group of terrified Zipplebacks, Stormfly made her move. The Deadly Nadder shot up out of the cavern, faster than she had ever flown before, and exited the volcano through the same crack that they had originally entered through. In the commotion, the boar that they had captured was lost, but Astrid paid that little mind. She had other things to worry about. Their escape did not go unnoticed. The roar that echoed after them sounded manic as if appalled that any dragon would dare leave the nest without _her_ permission.

When the Nadder and Viking pair burst back into the blinding sunlight minutes later, Astrid breathed a sigh of relief. They had narrowly escaped what would have surely been the most painful of deaths if they were caught by the Queen. But just as the relief hit her, guilt struck her just as hard. She knew the location of the dragons' nest. She knew why the dragons attacked Berk—it was an easy target and the dragons were desperate. An intense feeling of obligation struck her in the gut.

She had to return to Berk. She had to tell Hiccup what she had inadvertently discovered.

—

When she and Stormfly finally returned to their campsite later that evening, Astrid was unsurprised find that Heather waiting up for her. She cringed as the smell of burnt fish assaulted her nostrils. Unsurprisingly, Heather appeared to be annoyed, but also very worried. A quick survey of the campsite told Astrid that her companion had grown tired of waiting for her return and had made dinner herself—but that was not important at the moment. Before Heather could get on to her about her absence, the blonde quickly launched into her tale of her encounter with the dragons' nest and after reaching the conclusion, she told Heather her plan.

Unfortunately, her companion was not convinced.

"Why does Berk matter so much to you? This is a fool's errand! Nothing good can come from this. Why would they listen to a complete stranger?"

"I have to try!"

"Why? Why is this so important that you would risk your safety and your dragon's safety?"

It was a familiar argument, one that Astrid herself had had years ago with Hiccup before the championship when he was willing to gamble all of their lives to prove that dragons were not dangerous. It also the same argument she had given not so long ago to Heather when she first mentioned her plans to get back at Dagur. Now the roles were reversed between the duo. Now it was Heather who was trying to be the voice of reason.

"I-I have to warn Hiccup!"

"That's no reason to—" Heather stopped short. It was as if Astrid's words finally registered with her. "Wait…what? Hiccup? What does he have to do with this?"

"I haven't been completely honest with you, Heather." The brunette raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Astrid continued, "My name isn't Astrid Haddock. It's—well, it was Astrid Hofferson. When I was exiled from my home, I was also disowned from my clan and when you asked for my name, I panicked and gave you the clan name of my former fiancé, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

"I've heard that name before." Heather suddenly gasped loudly, apparently making the connection. "Yes, now I remember! Trader Johann has mentioned him before. He's Stoick the Vast's son! My Gods! How did I not see it before? You're engaged to the heir of Berk!"

"I _was_ engaged to him, but not anymore. The contract became null with my exile." The words tasted bitter on her tongue. "But Heather, I owe it to him. I have to warn him about the nest. Our engagement was not just a political alliance between clans to us. He was my best friend growing up. We loved each other. Hel, I still love him." She expressed passionately.

Heather frowned, "But he is the heir to Berk, you realize that by now he has probably—"

Astrid could not bring herself to listen to the words that she knew Heather would say. "I know. Believe me, I know." She bit, cutting the other girl off before she could finish. "But I still have to tell him."

"So, let me get this straight. Even knowing that he has likely taken a different wife in your absence, you still love this guy enough that you are willing to risk everything that you have built for yourself these past two years to save him and the tribe that _cast you out_?" Heather asked pointedly.

For her credit, Astrid did not flinch at the remark.

"Yes," she replied firmly. "I do."

Heather was quiet for a while, mulling over Astrid's response, and the exiled Berkian began to worry that the prolonged silence meant that she did not have her companion's support. But those worries were soon dashed when Heather suddenly said, "Well, okay then. When do we leave?"

Inwardly, Astrid cheered.

"As soon as possible, but I have a favor to call in first."

—

 **[1] This is eluding to the black sheep that plays a role in the dragon racing games on Berk in the second film and short. Astrid recognizes Sven's prized black sheep as coming from Berk, thus helping her reach the conclusion that the dragons had just raided Berk (in the daytime, no less) and would be returning to the nest. This is the same daytime raid that Hiccup mentioned that Berk is still recovering from in the previous chapter.**

—

 **I want to graciously thank you all for your patience! With this past chapter, I finally ran out of my pre-written chapter cushion…so, unfortunately, updates are going to be more sporadic as I will be posting whenever I get the next chapter written and I feel as though it is ready to be published. I will not rush writing as I do not think that that is fair to you as the readers. I want to deliver quality chapters and if that means a few weeks between updates, then so be it.**

 **So yes, a very short chapter this time around, but I thought this was a good place to end it. This was meant to be the second interlude, a jump back in time to catch up with the previous chapter. Now we know how Astrid ended up on Berk in chapter eighteen. Chapter twenty will pick up where chapter eighteen left off and yes, we** _ **finally**_ **get our reunion scene! :D I cross my heart and swear that you do not have to wait any longer! Hopefully, these past few chapters have not been too confusing. I know they jump around a lot. If you have any questions about the flow and timeline, please ask.**

 **Also, I know I am running behind on replying to reviews. I will get to responding to everyone very soon, but I figured you all would rather have the update first. :) Thank you again to all that leave feedback. It really means so much!**

— **Mari.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet-haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Warning** **: This chapter gets super mushy and even a bit heated towards the end.**

 **Prepare yourselves. Ye have been warned.**

—

 **Chapter Twenty**

Her plan went off without a hitch.

All too easily, she was able to convince Trader Johann to give her a lift back to Berk. Riding Stormfly would have been too conspicuous after all. She needed another way and that way was through Trader Johann. He had been reluctant at first, but she would have been shocked if he was not. In fact, she had had to endure a solid five minutes of cautious reminding that she would be breaking the terms of her banishment if she went through with her plan, but eventually, he realized that his coddling was pointless. Astrid had already made up her mind. And as such, there was no force on Midgard that could possibly stop her.

The plan was simple. Astrid would travel to Berk on Trader Johann's ship, alone, and in disguise. Heather would follow Johann's ship at a safe distance with Windshear and Stormfly. Once Johann's ship docked on Berk, the brunette and the two Sharp-Class dragons would hide out on a small section of beach not far from Raven Point. Meanwhile, Astrid would try to find Hiccup or the Chief. Although she wanted to go straight to Hiccup, she worried that it would be too dangerous if she did. If she wanted to keep her identity a secret—which was imperative if she wanted to stay alive—she could not just waltz into the village and sneak up on the younger Haddock. No, she would need to go about this in a formal fashion. She would need to request an audience with the Hooligan Chief. And as much as she wanted Heather at her side in all of this mess, she also needed an out just in case things went horribly wrong.

She desperately hoped things would not go horribly wrong.

Her brain was a whirlwind of worries and nerves. So far everything had gone according to plan, but how long could her good fortune possibly last? Regardless, she tried not to let her doubts get to get her. It was too late to turn back now. At that very moment, she stood at the bow of Johann's ship, allowing the ocean spray to come up and hit her. She watched with unblinking eyes as the isle of Berk grew ever nearer. The ocean spray upon her face was refreshing, yet it did nothing to calm her racing heart. Of course, Johann's insistent mutterings did not help matters either.

"Oh dear, I still do not like this plan. Nope! Not one bit. Nasty business, this is," he moaned.

Astrid narrowed her sharp blue eyes at her companion, but her hood hid the expression and so Johann continued his bothered mutterings, completely oblivious to the exiled Berkian's mounting frustration.

The next few minutes passed by in a bit of a blur. Eventually, Astrid took her eyes away from him and watched with baited breath as they pulled into Berk's meager shipping harbor. It was not anything like the harbor on Port. It was all but deserted. Of course, that could have had something to do with the fact that it was mid-morning and most fishermen had their boats out. Only a few were still tied up at the docks. Stoick's war vessels were among them. She let out a sigh of relief to know that he was indeed, present on the island. It would have been a complete disaster if he was away on tribal business. But Stoick's ships were not the only ones present in the harbor. There was one other boat as well; one that she knew quite well from her childhood. As luck would have it, Johann docked right beside the familiar boat.

Her grip tightened unconsciously on Heather's axe.

Before his untimely death, Astrid's father had made most of his income from fishing, as did most other men who lived in the village. After the incident with his brother and the Flightmare, her father was down a fishing partner. He could have continued to work alone—the Hofferson pride had almost made him—but he was instead approached by another man in the village. That man had been none other than Hoark the Haggard, one of Stoick's most trusted advisors aside from Gobber the Belch and Spitelout Jorgenson. Hoark was not the best fisherman on Berk, but it was no secret that Mr. Hofferson was. Thus, an unlikely partnership was struck up between the two men. Hoark offered Astrid's father use of his fishing boat in exchange for the other man's guidance.

Occasionally, her father and Hoark had allowed Astrid to tag along for their daily excursions. Those were pleasant memories and some of her most cherished times spent with her father. She had always enjoyed being out on the open ocean with nothing ahead for miles, just an endless expanse of frothy waves. How many times as a little girl had she stood at the bow of Hoark's vessel with her arms stretched out, pretending that she could fly? She loved the feeling of the sea spray splashing lightly up against her face. It gave her a sense of freedom. One that now could only be topped by the feeling of flying in the open air astride her beloved Deadly Nadder.

"We weren't expecting you back so soon, Johann!" The familiar voice of Hoark called out from his boat, effectively startling Astrid out of her reverie. The reason that his boat was docked at the port soon became clear. He was in the middle of cleaning and gutting his catch from that morning. Thankfully, the fisherman did not seem displeased to see the friendly trader; just the opposite.

"A friend requested a lift to the island, and I had no choice but to oblige them," Johann called back, sounding quite testy.

Hoark's eyes widened comically, noticing Johann's companion for the first time. Even at a distance, she saw how his hand tightened just so on his gutting knife. Astrid could not fault Hoark for his vigilance. She _knew_ what it looked like. Her clothing no doubt appeared strange to the Berkian. Her disguise consisted of a fitted dark brown cloak lined with fur and a pair of dark leggings tucked into her customary knee high leather boots. Her navy hood and scarf were pulled snugly over her fair features. Heather had also loaned her a pair of thick leather gloves to hide her feminine hands. With those gloves, Astrid clutched Heather's unconventional axe. The unfamiliar weapon felt wrong in her grasp, but to bring her own would have been too conspicuous.

"Ay, I see," Hoark finally found his voice after eyeing Astrid for several moments. "What business does yer friend have on the island?"

Not giving Johann the chance to speak, Astrid boldly stepped forward and called out, "I wish to speak to the chief of Berk, sir. I have information that I believe might interest him."

Hoark continued to eye her critically for several moments before stiffly nodding. He wiped his bloody hands on his trousers and said, "If ye follow me to the town square, I'll fetch the chief for ye."

Astrid smirked behind her scarf, "Thank you, sir."

Johann wisely stayed behind on his boat while Astrid followed Hoark up into the village of her birth. The walk was tense, as both Vikings were lost in their own thoughts. She had known since discovering the Nest that this moment was coming, yet nothing could have ever prepared her for setting foot on Berk again for the first time in over two years. It felt strange to be back, to see everything just as it had been. However, it was not all the same. Her firm gaze roamed over the familiar and unfamiliar sights. The village looked haggard as if it had seen better days, which it certainly had. There were so many new houses, surely built right over where the old ones had once proudly stood. The craftsmanship on the new builds was shoddy at best as if the builders had just given up on the meticulous details of their trade and made something that was quick and easy, just temporary. Clearly, Berk was still suffering from dragon raids.

"You suffer from dragon raids," Astrid observed, purposely lowering her voice to sound more like a young man than a woman.

"Is it that obvious, son?" Hoark turned his gaze to her with a heavy sigh. The look in the man's brown eyes struck her, so much so that she abruptly stopped walking. Just like the appearance of the new builds, he seemed to have just given up. "Yes, we do," he finally answered tiredly, stopping as well. To her utter surprise, he did not even try to deny it further. He sounded so hopeless. "They come at least twice a week now. We have no time to rebuild."

Astrid made an indecipherable noise of pity, unable to find the proper words to voice her sympathies for Berk's troubles. Hoark recovered from his lapse of un-Viking-like behavior and continued onward, gesturing with a sharp nod of his head for her to follow his lead. The condition of Berk only worsened as they walked further into the village. Not a single house or building remained untouched by the fiery wrath of the dragons under the Queen's command.

Eventually, they made it to the village square. Astrid took a deep breath as the hustle and bustle around her slowly came to a grinding halt. The villagers stopped in their tracks, all staring unabashedly at the masked visitor following Hoark the Haggard. Several people she recognized. She saw Mrs. Larson reach out and tightly grip Gustav's elbow. She saw Fishlegs' parents talking with Geirdís Thorston. There were others she knew as well, but she could not resist letting out a small sigh of relief that her mother was not one of them. She was not quite ready to face the Hofferson matriarch just yet. Still, as she glanced around, there were others that she did not recognize. There were many babes in the arms of their young mothers and fathers that had been born while she was away. She felt sorry for them that they had been born during such a trying time. Surely, it did not help matters. Berk had been struggling to feed its citizens before she was exiled. She could only imagine what trouble they were in now.

One particular young woman caught her eye as she was clearly not Berkian in descent—her plain cotton clothing and lack of armor being the most obvious giveaway—and thus was probably on Berk as a result of an arranged marriage. The woman was unbelievably petite in both height and weight. As if she could sense Astrid's staring, the young woman turned to look at the visitor as well. Astrid's own azure eyes met a pair of deep brown ones framed by deep black lashes. The woman's skin was as fair as a fresh blanket of newly fallen snow and her thick red hair was tied back in an alternate style of marriage braids, where half of her hair was braided around her crown while the rest was left to hang loosely down her back.

Naturally, Astrid could not help but wonder who the redhead had been forced into an arranged marriage with on Berk. Not many ordinary villagers married their sons off to women from different tribes. That right was reserved almost solely for the upper class on Berk; people like the chief's son. Most of the other villagers did not have enough to offer to convince anyone to pick up their belongings and move to a dragon-razed island. Behind her scarf, Astrid bit her lip so hard that it was entirely possible that she might draw blood if she was not careful. Was it possible that she was looking into the eyes of Hiccup's new bride?Heather had warned her of the possibility of this, yet her heart dropped all the same.

"Wait here and I'll get the chief for ye."

At Hoark's words, Astrid tore her gaze away from the unfamiliar redhead. She could not dwell on the what ifs. She had a duty to fulfill. Her plan was falling into place. Once Hoark retrieved the chief, she would request a private audience in the Great Hall and tell him everything about the dragons' nest and the Queen. Of course, it would not be completely private. Stoick the Vast was not daft enough to meet with a stranger alone. She expected the chief would ask to include Hiccup in the private audience as well, possibly even Gobber or Spitelout as well.

As she watched Hoark race up the hill towards the Chief's hall, a sliver of doubt ran through her for the first time since she had discovered the nest the previous day. The only part of her plan that she had not been able to defiantly decide on was whether or not she wanted to somehow secretly reveal her presence to Hiccup. She desperately wanted to, but seeing the redheaded woman had only given her another reason to second guess that idea. If Hiccup had indeed moved on, was it really fair for her to intervene and make things complicated once more? Perhaps it would be better to keep her identity from him as well. She could deliver her information to the chief, tell him all that she knew, and then go on her way. She had a life now outside of Berk.

Raised whispers rising from the surrounding crowd broke Astrid out of her worries. She looked up to see the hulking form of Stoick the Vast making his way down the hill from the chief's hall, flanked by Hoark, Gobber, and of course, his son. Stoick looked no different than he had the day that he had banished her from the island, if not for a few more gray hairs mixed in his beard. Of course, she had already seen Hoark and Gobber looked as hardy as always, but the other figure—well, he was an entirely different story. Her attention was no longer on the chief or his advisors, but rather trained solely on the advancing form of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

As he neared, her eyes drank in the features of his face like a traveler fraught for water. Thick stubble covered the lower expanse of his jaw and his russet colored hair seemed unrulier than ever. His eyes, still so very green, were narrowed in concentration as he studied her in return. Her breath caught in her throat at his intense stare and she had to remind herself that he had no idea who she was. She dropped her gaze to the ground, so not to attract unwanted attention, but her mind wandered back to his looks nonetheless. He had grown some in her two-year absence. His shoulders seemed broader, as they filled out his pauldrons better. He was nearly at equal height with his towering father—which was quite a feat in of itself. He had also been wearing a completely new set of armor, one that covered almost every square inch of his body in dark leather and iron. **[1]**

By the Gods! Why did she find him so damn attractive?

It just made things that much harder for her.

As the group continued to make their way down to the square, a stray observation entered her conscious that the mystery woman did not make any kind of attempt to go over to Hiccup's side. In fact, she barely even spared Hiccup a glance. Astrid's heart wanted to take it as a good sign, but her mind traitorously reminded her that even as the heir's bride, it was not her place to get involved in tribal affairs. Not yet anyway. It was also not a wise idea to reveal that kind of romantic connection to complete stranger. It could be used against them later.

So lost in those dismal, swirling thoughts was she that Stoick's interrogation against her passed by in the blink of an eye. The chief was suspicious of her, as was to be expected, but Astrid was not offended in the slightest. She would have been awfully surprised if Stoick did not try to interrogate, or in other words intimidate, her at least little bit. She rattled off her responses to his questions mechanically. Most of her mind was otherwise preoccupied. She found it hard to think, much less breathe under the weight of her once lover's stare. She could not stop her own eyes from flittering back to his thoughtful face every so often. So in truth, she hardly had any idea of the words that left her mouth—until she let her identity slip, that is.

"Why should we trust ye? Who are ye? From what tribe do ye hail?" The chief rattled off.

She had wondered if she was really strong enough to look Hiccup in the eye and pretend that she did not know him. As it turned out, she was not. On a whim, she decided to Hel with her fears!

"I'm a wanderer. I don't belong to any specific tribe." Astrid paused momentarily and held Hiccup's gaze, silently trying to tell him that what she was about to say next would mean something to him specifically. After taking a short, deep breath that was concealed behind her scarf, she continued, "My birth name is of no importance to you, but you may call me Stormfly if you wish."

If Astrid would have been paying attention to them, she probably would have laughed if she saw how the Chief's bushy eyebrows scrunched up or how Gobber tilted his head like a confused yak at the strange name, but the disguised blonde's gaze was locked squarely on her now very pale ex-fiancé.

 _He knew._

A flurry of emotions passed over his unguarded face. At first, he was simply stunned. His sharp jaw hung open in an adorable manner—if she did say so herself. His stunned expression morphed into one that was hopeful and just a tad bit curious, perhaps wondering why she was on the island after all this time. But then, in perhaps the most drastic change of all, his face went from curious to anguished in the span of just a few seconds. In fact, Hiccup now appeared to be trying his hardest not to double over and spill the contents of his stomach on the grass below his feet.

To her surprise and furtive delight, he suddenly straightened and began to take a hurried step towards her. Truthfully, it was taking every ounce of self-control within her not to do the same. It was clear that his brain was acting ahead of his body because he nearly tripped over himself in his effort to reach her. But a sharp shake of Astrid's head was enough to make his pause. He clenched his fists tightly by his sides and the anguished expression appeared to deepen. Yet as terrible as she felt for making that agony appear on his face, he could not do anything that would reveal her identity to the others. To the surrounding crowd, this series of small interactions between them was barely noticeable, but to her, it gave her hope that perhaps he had missed her just as much as she missed him. She momentarily forgot about the mysterious redhead.

"Storm…fly…" The Chief began under his breath, testing out the strange name on his tongue. "Well, Stormfly, I don't believe that we are in need of—"

However, before the obvious dismissal could fully leave his mouth, Hiccup stepped forward and roughly tugged on his father's meaty arm. Astrid watched with a hidden smile as the attractive auburn haired man forcefully drug his stunned father off to the side and began to talk to him in hushed tones. Their conversation was far too quiet for her to hear, but she could only assume that Hiccup was desperately trying to convince his father to hold council with her. Even better, it actually worked.

After a few tense moments, Stoick turned back to Astrid with a stony expression. "Yer request is granted. Ye will meet with me in the Great Hall and my son will act as a witness. Ye have ten minutes to convince me," he ground out.

She nodded in acceptance. "Thank you."

"Come on," Hiccup called out to her, his voice surprisingly strong. Her knees nearly buckled out from under her at hearing it for the first time in two years. "I'll show you the way."

A small, hesitant smile appeared on his lips, one that was returned from behind her scarf although he could not see it. They both knew that he did not have to show her where the Great Hall was, she already knew, but it was necessary to keep up the appearance that she was a stranger and did not know her way around the island. The trio left a stunned crowd behind with Hiccup leading the way, Astrid following closely behind him, and Stoick bringing up the rear of their tiny procession. When they finally entered the Great Hall, Astrid was unprepared for the multitude of memories that assaulted her. Her disownment. Her banishment. Her broken betrothal. Her last memories of the communal gathering space were not the most pleasant. She paused just after entering the large chamber. Her feet refused to move any further. Involuntarily, she began to quiver on the spot as her mother's parting words to her replayed in her mind like a vicious nightmare.

" _This how you repay yer father's sacrifice? There is no appropriate word for this level of dishonor that ye have dealt the Hofferson clan! The girl I raised would never do something so treacherous as to side with the enemy. They are the reason we lost our honor! They are the reason our family was torn apart! Does that mean nothing to you?! I—I can't even look at ye; I am so ashamed._ "

In the guise of guiding their unannounced guest over to a large strategy table covered in maps of the Barbaric Archipelago and beyond, Hiccup placed a comforting hand on her arm. He knew she was being haunted by painful memories. His touch upon her arm was feather light, nothing that could be considered suspicious, but it burned through the layers of fur and cloth all the same and calmed her. Her panicked breathing leveled out. Beneath her hood, she briefly met his calm green eyes and nodded her thanks. He removed his hand but another smile quirked on the corners of his enticing lips.

Gods, how she wanted to just kiss him. It was maddening to be so close and yet, unable to embrace him like she so desperately wanted to. Unfortunately, she knew it was not her place. Not anymore. Unless he initiated something first, she could not dare cross that line. Her musings of Hiccup were ultimately interrupted by the chief, who had grown impatient of the silence between them.

"Alright, ye've got the private council ye asked for, but I don't trust ye," Stoick remarked. He gripped the edge of the strategy table with white knuckles. "I don't know why ye felt the need to hide yerself out there, but ye can't do that in here. Remove yer mask."

Even though it was just the three of them in the Great Hall, Astrid gently shook her head in refusal. The Chief would never hear her out if he knew who she really was. In fact, her life would probably be in grave danger if he did find out her true identity. He had granted her mercy once. She was not so sure that he would be so lenient a second time, even with her good intentions. At her refusal, the chief's eyes narrowed even further in suspicion. She spared a glance over in Hiccup's direction, an unconsciously given silent cry for help, but the chief's son could not interfere even if he wanted to. Technically, he was just a witness in all of this.

Before Stoick could badger her further, Astrid changed the subject. She had come here for a reason and she intended to follow through with it. "Do you want to know about the dragon nest or not?" She snapped irritably.

Luckily, that caught the chief's attention. He seemed to forget all about her mask and his suspicions of her. "The dragon nest? Ye've been to the nest?" His green eyes, so similar to Hiccup's, were wide with astonishment.

Astrid nodded slowly.

At the chief's encouragement, she told him all about the dragon nest and the behemoth that controlled the other dragons. She had to somewhat alter her story of how she discovered the nest in the first place so not to give away Stormfly's involvement, but most of what she told the Chief and by extension, Hiccup, was one hundred percent factual. The further she got into her tale, Stoick's expression flip-flopped between thoughtful and determined while Hiccup paled as more and more details were given. Stoick's reaction was exactly what she expected, but Hiccup's was not. He never once interrupted her, but she could tell by his horrified countenance that he desperately wanted to. She tried to pay his rapidly paling face little mind as she concluded her story.

That was when things began to fall apart.

The Berkian chieftain demanded to know how to get to the nest.

She wrung her hands nervously, "Well see, that's the thing. You can't really find it alone. I believe that only a dragon can find—"

"Ah ha!" Stoick cut her off, smacking his hands on the edge of the strategy table in a joyful manner. The pinching of his cheeks told her that he was smiling, but it was hidden behind the expanse of his gray-tinged beard. She tilted her head slightly, unsure why he was so pleased with what she said. He continued, "We'll start the preparations at once. We have some captured dragons from the last raid that we can chain to the warships to lead us there. Aye, I don't know why I never thought of this before!"

Hiccup made a strangled noise of protest that came from the back of his throat.

Inwardly, Astrid began to panic. Perhaps she did not think her entire plan through. Berk could not defeat the Dragon Queen all on their own. From what she had seen, the Queen was enormous. It would take the entire Roman army to defeat her! This is not what she wanted to happen. Stoick could not just jump to conclusions like he was. It could get all of Berk killed.

"Uhm, that's not exactly…" She fumbled anxiously.

Meanwhile, Hiccup shot the disguised blonde a glare and immediately tried to reason with his father. "Dad, you can't be serious! We're still recovering from the last raid. I don't think this is a good idea."

Stoick looked confused by his son's reluctance. "Ye were the one who wanted to hear Stormfly out and I'll admit, ye were right. He's given us valuable information. We can't waste it. We have to strike now before they come again. We set out to this Dragon Island at once."

"No, Dad! I'm sure that is not what _he_ meant by coming here!" Hiccup objected impatiently, glaring over at Astrid again.

But the Berkian heir's pleas fell on deaf ears. Stoick was barely listening. "Son, ye stay here and run the village. The warriors and I will begin preparations—"

"No! You can't do it alone," Astrid cried, brazenly cutting the chief off. She had to make him understand. In her panic, her voice rose out of the deeper impression she had been using to cover up her feminine voice. "You don't know the size of this monster! You need ten times the warriors that Berk has to offer!"

"Are ye insulting the quality of my warriors?!" The redheaded chief asked warningly.

She shook her head, "No! You just don't understand—"

"How dare ye repay my courtesy by mocking my tribe!"

"A-Stormfly, Dad!" Hiccup exclaimed, holding out his hands for peace between the two heated Vikings. "Stop it! Stop arguing!"

Stoick merely glared at Astrid, "I want ye off this island by sunset! Do not make me say it twice."

Under her breath, she muttered, "Technically, you already have." Stoick, however, was too busy storming out of the Great Hall to hear.

When the grand doors slammed thunderously upon the Berkian chief's departure Hiccup rolled his eyes, falling back on his typical sarcastic demeanor. "Gods, why does no one _ever_ listen to me?"

"Hiccup, I—"

But before the apology could leave her lips, the Viking in question rounded on her. As his furious green eyes locked on her surprised sapphire ones, she realized for the first time that he was not panicking as she had previously thought, but was angry. Very angry. She did not understand. Her heart dropped to her stomach. This was not at all how she had hoped that their reunion would go now that they had miraculously found themselves alone together.

"What have you done?!" He shouted.

"Me?!" She exclaimed, unsure why he was yelling at her. "Well, I was trying to warn you! I thought that you'd like the know about the cannibalistic Queen that has all the dragons in the Archipelago under her command. I was trying to help you stop the raids! I figured you'd do something about it!"

Hiccup shook his head in disbelief, "Then you should have come to me first!" His eyes narrowed, "You think I don't already know about the nest? Well, I do. I have for nearly two years. We discovered it not long after you left and it wasn't hard to figure out what exactly was going on."

"And you did nothing?" Astrid gasped. "That's not like you, Hiccup. I thought charging into dangerous situations was your thing."

"What were we supposed to do, Astrid? It was five Vikings and their four dragons against an entire nest with a giant Queen controlling them. We stood no chance! Even Berk's finest warriors have no chance against her. That's why we kept it a secret, to protect everyone. Now, thanks to you, my crazy father is going to get half the village and a bunch of dragons killed because as per usual, he's too thick headed to listen!" He ranted angrily. She was so shocked by his irate response that she did not even bother to question who the other riders were. "And why would you come to my father about this? Why not tell me first? What did you think was going to happen when you told Dad about the Nest? He has only obsessed over finding it since my mother was killed!"

She felt her own ire rise at his attitude. "I thought that maybe he would have a little sense of patience to come up with a decent plan before setting out!"

"Have you lost your mind? Patient does not describe my father in the least. He's more a strike first, think about the consequences later kind of guy."

"Trust me, it runs in the family," she jabbed. "Or have you already forgotten about the championship?"

His hand rose up to pinch his nose in irritation. She could tell he was trying not to lose his temper. Truthfully, Astrid did not know where her anger had come from or why she was being so aggressive towards him, but she argued silently to herself that _he_ was the one who started it.

"Can you just take this off already? I'm tired of talking to a mask!" He spat, stepping closer to her. His fingers rose and tugged slightly at the offending garment.

When Astrid did not make any move to remove it herself—she was flabbergasted by the quick turn in conversation—Hiccup took matters into his own hands. It seemed that their previous argument was forgotten. He reached up and all bit ripped the hood and scarf from her face, fully exposing her features to him. Almost instantly, he paled and his face twisted in nausea. Nothing was out of the ordinary, at least not to her. Her braid was wrapped tightly around her crown as it had been for the past two years. He took a noticeable step back from her. Part of her was disappointed at the disgusted look on his face, while the other part was expecting such a reaction. It was not hard to guess what he was thinking.

"You—you're married?"

That only confirmed her suspicions. Astrid avoided the question and instead smiled up at him. However, it was anything but a happy one. Her mind wandered back to the girl she had seen in the square. "Haven't you?" She returned bitterly.

"No! I've refused every bride that my father has offered up," he confessed. "I-I didn't want anyone else. I'd rather forfeit the chiefdom and die alone than be forced into another contract."

Astrid gasped.

"Well, then it's a good thing I wear it like this for practicality."

He appeared equally as stunned by her own confession. For several tense moments, neither moved. Then, the pads of his fingers rose and wiped away the tears that she had not even realize had fallen. When she hiccupped slightly in embarrassment for losing control of her emotions, he tenderly cradled her face in between his hands. His eyes slowly began to fill with tears as well, "Gods, you are as beautiful as the day you left. I missed you so much." **[2]**

"If you think I didn't miss you too then you're an idiot," she returned playfully.

Their eyes locked then and no further words were needed. Their shared gaze said it all. They were drawn together like moths to a flame. Heather's axe, the one Astrid had been painfully gripping during their argument, clattered to the stone floor beneath them. It was forgotten. When their lips met in an initial tender kiss, Astrid felt as though a piece of her that had been missing for two years had finally made its way back home to her. They held that initial kiss, both afraid to move lest they break the spell between them, for an unmeasurable amount of time. She could taste the apology on his lips. He was sorry. So was she. His body was shaking, but so was hers. She could feel his silent tears against her cheeks as he released years of pent up grief and worry for her safety. Suddenly, she felt incredibly foolish for ever believing that he could have moved on with someone else. It was clear now that he had been suffering just as she had. Her love for him blossomed in her chest and spread throughout every inch of her body, leaving a warm, tingling feeling in its wake.

"I love you, Hiccup," she breathed out against his lips.

He broke the kiss and pulled back to look at her. He searched her face with wide, eager eyes as if trying to figure out if he had heard her right. It was the first time that she had said it. She had been unable say those three little words to him before she left. She had been unsure, but now she knew that she had always felt this way.

Astrid offered him a small watery smile.

That broke him.

"Please don't ever leave me again," he whispered softly.

Unable to hold back any longer, he launched himself at her and cradled her body to him with the utmost tenderness. He did not have to say the words in return; she already knew. Astrid allowed herself to sag into him. She pressed her cheek against the cool iron of his new pauldrons and reveled in the feeling of just being held by him. Idly, she thought that she had always loved his hugs. Somehow, he could make something as innocent as a hug feel even more intimate than a passionate kiss. His face dropped into the curve of her shoulder and she felt him take a deep breath, inhaling her scent.

"I hope I smell okay," she teased.

In all honesty, she was not completely kidding. Living as she did, sometimes it was hard to keep up with bodily hygiene. She bathed and washed her clothes as often as she could, but sometimes she missed a few washings. Stormfly never minded and Heather was in the same boat she was, so it had never really mattered until now.

Then again, he himself was a _Viking male_ so…

Hiccup laughed, nosing his way even further into her shoulder in search of the bare skin at her collarbone. When he spoke, she could feel his lips form every word. "You smell wonderful, milady."

As much as she enjoyed the feeling of his lips on her skin, she pushed him away to look at his face. What she saw there, made her heart race in her chest. The desire was evident in his emerald orbs.

"Come here, you." He muttered, his hands snaking around her waist and pulling her to him. **[3]**

His head dipped down towards her and she rose on her tiptoes to meet him. This was different from their previous kiss. This kiss was bruising. One minute they were standing straight and then the next, they were stumbling back into the table as he began to plunder her mouth with a fervor that she never thought that he could be capable of. Even during their short courtship, Hiccup was never once forceful with his advances towards her. However, two years of being without her had obviously changed a few things. These were the kisses of a man starved for her affection.

Despite the fact that she consciously knew that it was very much wrong, given the situation and the very public place they were in, Astrid did not reject these advances and instead welcomed the talented, calloused hands that began to run up and down her body. She reasoned that it was only fitting that they do this here, in the Great Hall. It felt incredibly good to make a new pleasant memory in the place that had caused her so much pain the last time she had been there. Perhaps it was shameless of her, but she had dreamt of him touching her like this and even doing other, more suggestive things, in this very room a few times over the course of her exile. It was not a dream that she had often, but the few times she had had it, she awoke in the middle of the night with a torturous heat burning in her belly and ache between her legs. She had been quite embarrassed for having such a carnal dream, but luckily, Heather had always slept right through it and was none the wiser.

It was Astrid's little secret.

Pushing the dream from her mind, Astrid ran her hands curiously over the rough stubble along his jawline before finally twisting up into his soft hair. She blanked from there, allowing her heart and desire to lead instead of her brain. Before either of them knew what was really happening, the form fitting cloak was freed from her body to reveal her standard attire beneath it—a burgundy tunic, woolen leggings, and leather pleated skirt. She was suddenly very glad that she had not worn the skirt that she had experimentally added Nadder quills onto. Although pretty badass if she did say so herself, it would have been most problematic in their current situation. That errant thought was reaffirmed when he deftly reached up under her skirt to hitch one of her legs around him. The new position brought the entire length of his armor-clad body against her.

"H-Hiccup." His name instinctively dropped from her lips.

He broke the kiss and buried his face into her neck. "I have thought of you every single day you have been gone. I dreamt of you as my wife. I dreamt of what our life together would have been like. I thought of touching you like this. I have had two whole years to imagine these things and trust me, my imagination has come up with all sorts of things," he murmured.

A shiver ran down her spine. "Oh?"

He did not answer, seemingly more interested in showing her rather than talking about it. The hand under her skirt remained pressed against the curve of her backside to hold her to him while the other delved into her bound hair in a blind attempt to pull out all the pins that kept it tightly in place. After several minutes of losing themselves to mutual desire, their lips continuing to slide over one another's and get reacquainted, the edge of the table began to dig uncomfortably into her back. But she could not bring herself to mind too much. All she cared about was the feeling of him against her after so long and the familiar scent that surrounded her in a dizzying haze.

"Astrid?" And then, someone was saying her name, but it was not Hiccup. " _ASTRID_?!"

The two amorous Vikings shot apart. Astrid looked up at the doors of the Great Hall to find Ruffnut Thorston staring at her and Hiccup with wide eyes. The heated spell between them was broken with the female twin's interruption and Hiccup suddenly looked horrified.

"Oh Gods, Astrid! I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me—"

"I do!" Ruffnut cut in before he could finish. "Holy Thor, you could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife. Why don't you just bend her over the table already, Haddock? _Yeesh_. As much as I would have enjoyed watching that, this is not the time or the place to be doing that."

Despite the crudeness, not the mention complete improbability of the statement, Astrid could not help but laugh. "It's good to see you haven't lost your wonderful sense of humor, Ruff." The blonde honestly did not take any offense to her old friend's words. She had heard a lot worse leave the female twin's mouth before.

"You know me!" Ruffnut sing-songed, wagging her eyebrows suggestively at the pair. Hiccup began to fidget uncomfortably. "Anyway, I came in here to tell you that Snotlout said that the Chief is going around screaming orders that he is taking every able warrior to attack the dragon nest. He ordered for one of the newly caught dragons to be taken to the warships! Then I come in here looking for Hiccup, find you two going at it, and realize, Holy Thor! Astrid is back! So, care to fill me in here?"

"Oh Gods," Hiccup moaned, rubbing his forehead. "Ruff, there's no time to explain right now. I really need you to focus. Gather the riders up and have them meet us in the cove. Got it? This is really important."

Ruffnut frowned at the seriousness in his tone. Astrid was surprised at the quick shift in the twin's personality. It was completely strange. Two years ago she would have berated Hiccup for treating her as a child or made some kind of sarcastic comment about him not being chief yet so he could not order her around, but Ruffnut did neither of those things now. Without another word, the blonde nodded and rushed out of the Great Hall to do as Hiccup instructed. Astrid watched her go with a slack jaw.

When the other girl was gone and they were alone once more, she finally voiced the first of her many questions. "What's the cove?"

"A lot has changed, Astrid. Come on. I'll tell you on the way."

—

 **[1] Before Astrid's banishment, Hiccup wore a half-suit of armor similar to what we see in** _ **Race to the Edge**_ **. However, while Astrid was away, he redesigned his armor into the full suit that he wears in** _ **How to Train Your Dragon 2**_ **.**

 **[2] Yes, I altered Stoick's famous line to Valka from** _ **How to Train Your Dragon 2**_ **for this scene. I thought it fit well here.**

 **[3] Yet another quote from HTTYD2 and there is a story behind this. So there is this GIF out on the internet of the scene where Hiccup says this line, grabs Astrid by the waist and kisses her. The caption on the bottom of the GIF says, "LOOK AT THE WAY HE JUST GRABS HER WAIST. HE GOES FROM DORKY LAUGH TO LET'S POPULATE BERK," and I crack up, hysterically, every single time it randomly pops up on my newsfeed. So when I was writing this scene, for some reason that GIF was playing over and over in my head. Let me be clear and say that even without Ruffnut's interruption, things weren't going to go anywhere near that far but hey, it's been two years, they were bound to have a bit of pent up sexual frustration.**

—

 **I got this written a lot faster than I thought I would. But then again, I literally spent my entire weekend off writing this chapter, a quarter of the next, and playing with my dog so...**

 **This chapter has been a long time coming and I know everyone has been anxiously awaiting** _ **the**_ **reunion. Naturally, they got a little bit carried away and then leave it to Ruffnut to bring in some crude humor. I hope no one minds but hey, they have not seen each other in two years so they are allowed to lose themselves a little bit.**

 **Was anyone surprised about the fact that Hiccup and the other riders have known about the nest for two years? I toyed with this idea of whether or not they should know about it and decided that there was no possible way that they could not know about it. In canon, Hiccup seems content to not tell his father or anyone about the nest. It is only at Astrid's urging and then later, a slip of his tongue, that forces his hand. If you want a thorough explanation, go back and read chapter eighteen. I actually hinted to the fact that he knew about the nest and there is an entire paragraph of his reasoning why he and the other riders never went after it! :D**

 **In other news, with** _ **Drengskapr**_ **well on its way to being completed, I've been thinking of what I want to do when the story is finished. We've only got five or six more chapters to go, maybe a few more if I start splitting them up and making each one shorter. If I average about two weeks between updates, that would put the story wrapping up around the end of September. Which actually works out well because in October I will be taking a temporary hiatus because I'm getting married mid-month and I really need to focus on last minute wedding details! :). A few of you have asked if there will be a sequel to** _ **Drengskapr**_ **. At the moment, I think the answer is no. I have a few ideas, but nothing that I think could match the originality of the first story and therefore, I'm probably going to leave well enough alone. One-shots from this universe may be in the works however (I've promised a few of you special ones!), but they will not be posted until after the story is complete. That brings us to another question, would it make more sense to have the one-shots posted under a completely different "story", or should I add them here after the epilogue? Which do you think would be easier for you guys?**

 **So, besides one-shots, what will I be working on next then?**

 **ONE: I plan to focus more on my original work. As I said in a previous chapter's authors note, I have been posting an original work to Fictionpress for feedback. Most of it is already written, I'm just going back through and cleaning it up a bit. Writing** _ **Drengskapr**_ **has really been a learning experience for me. So it's been really slow process and I only have a few chapters posted thus far. I know some of you already have been reading it and I really appreciate that! If you are curious, please check it out!**

 **TWO: I** _ **may**_ **…have another AU in the works… While watching one of my other favorite movies the other day, I was hit by a plot bunny that I first thought was incredibly stupid and silly, but just like the plot bunny that inspired** _ **Drengskapr**_ **, it just would not leave my head. I'm hoping it's an original idea and so far, what searching around on I've done has come up with no one doing it before. Now I literally can't stop thinking about it and at work the other day, I began the process of creating a story outline for it. (** _ **I know I'm really shameless. I was supposed to be actually doing my job but there I was, hiding in my office, hunched over my desk, plotting fanfiction.**_ **) I have not started writing it yet as obviously I'm going to focus my attentions on finishing** _ **Drengskapr**_ **first and foremost. I don't want to give away too much until I have a more defined storyline developed but the AU will attempt to explore the colonization of the Barbaric Archipelago, much to the horror of the Viking descendent natives. Our main players will include a star-crossed orphaned-blacksmith!Hiccup and aristocratic-warrior!Astrid, of course. But in a twist, will also star Snotlout as a strangely cast, but very important protagonist and ally to Hiccup. A small clue:** _ **drink of me hearties—yo ho**_ **. :D**

 **Well, I hope that the reunion chapter has satisfied the long wait for Hiccstrid! Let me know what you thought. As always, I really appreciate everyone who has patiently read and reviewed this story. You guys keep me going!**

 **\- Mari.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet-haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

When she first decided to return to Berk, this was not at all how she imagined things would go.

First of all, she had not planned on being on the island for more than a few hours at most. That short time allotment had since passed and somehow she knew that she would not be leaving to go back to her island anytime soon. Heather and Johann were going to be so worried if she did not get a message to them soon. Secondly, she certainly had not expected Stoick to react as he had—although, in hindsight, she should have known that the burly chief would overreact. As Hiccup had so 'eloquently' said, his father was obsessed with finding the nest. She supposed it was the only way that the Chief could find closure for his wife's untimely death. And thirdly, she had never expected Hiccup to be so angry to find out why she had returned to Berk.

But oh yes, Hiccup had been right to yell at her for coming back as she had. Once it all came down to it and he explained everything that he knew and had kept secret for the good of his people, she realized that he was right. For once, _she_ had been the one not thinking things through. _She_ had been the one jumping into action before thinking of the consequences and how the village would react to the discovery of the nest after nearly three hundred years of failure. It had been incredibly foolish of her to jump to conclusions and in doing so, she had thrown Hiccup's carefully laid plans into chaos. She should have listened to Heather's initial warnings, but she had been too stubborn to see what the consequences of those actions might be.

Furthermore, if she were to be honest, she was quite lucky that Stoick had asked Hiccup to witness the private council. If he had not been there to mediate, who knows what might have happened. Even now, he was still saving her butt by taking charge of the situation and formulating a plan to get them out of the mess that she had started. Hiccup always knew what to do and most importantly, he was _usually_ right. Not always—she could think of a few vivid examples of when his plans went terribly awry—but most of the time he had good ideas at least. The insults that she had laid into him during their fight suddenly replayed in her mind. He had not deserved her harsh words. She regretted them. Luckily, he did not seem to hold them against her. In fact, he seemed to have all but forgotten about their explosive fight—perhaps in light of what had happened afterward.

"Come on. If we're going to do something to fix this mess, we've got to get out of here."

The blonde was brought out her musings as Hiccup reached for her and clutched her hand tightly in his. And then they were moving. She scarcely had enough time to grab her discarded cloak and hood, not to mention Heather's axe, before Hiccup all but drug her through the same side entrance that they had used to slip out unnoticed from the Great Hall the day of her banishment.

How ironic.

As they stepped out of the Great Hall, she realized that indeed a great deal of time had passed since she had arrived on the island early that morning. By now, the sun had already made its journey halfway through the sky and was currently working on its daily descent. Dusk would be upon them in just a few short hours and with it, Astrid knew that her companions would become quite worried. But how was she to get a message to either of them? She knew that she needed to tell Hiccup that she had not come to the island alone—in fact, there was much that she needed to tell him—but she found herself at a loss for words. She was completely and utterly unable to form coherent speech at the moment. There were too many thoughts swirling around in her brain to truly make sense of it all.

So, with her hand tightly enveloped in his, Astrid allowed Hiccup to lead her away from the village and down a path in the forest that he seemed to know quite well. There were impressions in the forest floor that showed that the path was used quite frequently. She wondered just how often Hiccup escaped the Great Hall just to go to this secret place. That thought only fueled her curiosity to know what 'the cove' was and why Ruffnut and the others knew about it. What had happened between Hiccup and the teens during her absence that had led to them having a secret meeting place?

As was true Hiccup flair, he felt the need to fill the silence as he led her towards their destination. "Where's Stormfly?"

"Hiding," Astrid answered gruffly. "I couldn't very well bring her into the village with me, now could I?"

"Right." He tried again, "You want to know where I'm taking you, don't you?"

"That's one of the questions I have, yes. You aren't just planning to murder me out in the middle of the forest, are you?" She joked.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" He chuckled before continuing, "For me to be able to explain the purpose of the cove, I first have to tell you of what happened immediately after you left with Stormfly. After you flew away, I waited in the grove for a long time because I honestly hoped that you might change your mind and return to take me with you." Astrid frowned at that, instantly feeling guilty. Hiccup offered her a wry smile, "But you didn't come back and I eventually had to return to the village. When I came out of the forest, someone was waiting for me and from the look on their face, I knew immediately that they weren't very happy."

"Your father?" She guessed quietly.

He shook his head, "No. It was Ruffnut."

Astrid's eyebrows rose in surprise, "Ruffnut?!"

Hiccup nodded and began to tell share the events that had transpired after she left Berk two years ago. What a story it was! As he shared the details of the conversation that he and Ruffnut had had, Astrid's eyes grew wider and wider in disbelief. "She gave me a lot of grief because I couldn't tell her what had happened during the championship, not at first anyway. I didn't want to risk it. But, she eventually forced it _all_ out of me—with a great deal of violence, I might add," He then paused, sounding quite put out over the fact.

Astrid was taken aback by the fact that Hiccup had told her best friend everything so easily but then suddenly she smiled, realizing that if Ruffnut's reaction in the Great Hall was anything to go by, she must have believed him. Perhaps Astrid should not have doubted her friend's ability to reason when she herself was considering telling the female twin everything two years ago. Ruffnut had grown up quite a bit since their young adolescent years after all.

"See, I told you that you could change minds. You can be very persuasive," Astrid teased with a wink.

He shook his head and continued the rest of his tale, "Yeah, she believed me and I made her promise that she would not tell another soul about what she had learned. But what I didn't know was that her solo confrontation was a ruse. She hadn't come alone at all. Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout were hiding in the bushes and they heard everything I told her."

"Great, and I bet Snotlout immediately ran back to the village to tell your father and anyone who would listen that Astrid Hofferson was a traitor and a dragon sympathizer and she had been banished from the island for her crimes," she spat bitterly.

Hiccup frowned, "Give him a little bit more credit, Astrid."

"Why should I? When did he ever show me respect?"

His frown deepened and he did not respond, seemingly for lack of anything to contradict her harsh statement with. "Well, he didn't return to the village and he hasn't told anyone about what he learned that afternoon, even to this day. Only the five of us know. Your secret is still safe, Astrid. In fact, Snot wanted to help me find Toothless."

Astrid's jaw dropped at that.

"Yeah, I was sort of surprised about that as well," Hiccup mentioned in an offhand manner. "But later that night, the five of us returned to the forest and we searched until the early morning hours for any sign of Toothless. We finally found him trapped in a cove near Raven's Point—actually, the very same cove we're going to. I introduced Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs, and Snotlout to him and the rest is sort of history. After meeting Toothless, they realized that everything I had said when I told Ruffnut your story was true. Dragons are not the enemy. Just like people, there are good ones and bad ones and as we later found out when we accidentally discovered the nest, a lot of it has to do with the circumstances in which they are living and are treated. Anyway, for the last two years, they have stood by my side in my efforts to protect both Berk and dragons. With their help, I fulfilled my promise to you," he declared passionately.

He then proceeded to give her a rundown of how he and the other teens had freed the arena dragons by using a dragon raid as a distraction and how they continued to free dragons that were captured during raids. She had expected Hiccup to be busy during her absence—but not like this. This was beyond anything she possibly could have imagined. He told her about how each of the teens had bonded with the arena dragons and so once freed, the Nightmare, the Gronckle, and the Zippleback all stayed on Berk. He told her about how he had taught them all how to ride their chosen dragon companions. He told her about D.R.A.W.S, the warning system they had created for dragon raids. By the time he had seemingly run out of things to tell her about their efforts with the dragons, she was completely and utterly stunned. Her jaw was just about to the forest floor. She could not believe so much had happened, that so much had changed with the teens that she had once thought would be utterly incapable of accepting dragons, over the past two years.

Meanwhile, Hiccup had finally fallen silent. He eyed her obvious astonishment with curiosity. Realizing that he was waiting for some kind of response from her, she settled for the truth. "I—I can't believe it!" She exclaimed.

In his excitement to fill Astrid in on _everything_ , he began to ramble. "Yeah, well, sometimes it's hard to believe that you've been gone from Berk for two years now. You've missed so much with everyone in the village as well! Silent Sven isn't silent anymore and Bucket discovered that he has an aptitude for painting. Ruffnut and Fishlegs finally got married and then Tuff started a rather strange companionship with a chicken after Ruff moved in with Fishlegs. Oh! And then Spitelout arranged for Snotlout to be married—"

She stopped dead in her tracks and held up a hand, "Whoa, wait just a minute. _Snotlout_ got _married_?"

Hiccup stopped as well and nodded.

" _Snotlout Jorgenson?_ Your cousin?"

Hiccup nodded once more.

"To a living, breathing female?"

He rolled his eyes at that.

Unperturbed, she carried on. "Oh gods, who is the poor unfortunate soul?"

"Spitelout arranged a marriage for him to a girl from a neighboring tribe. Her name is Eira," Hiccup explained. Astrid instantly colored at the news, connecting the dots. She knew just who this Eira girl had to be. The mysterious redhead from the square was finally identified. What an unfortunate misunderstanding. Meanwhile, Hiccup chuckled lightly at the look on her face, mistaking her embarrassment for pity. "You know, Snot and Eira are actually really happy together. Snotlout settled down quite a bit after they got married. Eira's a nice girl, but she also knows how to keep him in line. We don't really talk about it but I really think he's grown to love her."

Astrid almost felt sorry for the poor woman for having to be saddled with someone as pompous as Snotlout Jorgenson, but she decided to take Hiccup's word for it that the two were happy together. When she had locked eyes with the redheaded girl in the square, Eira had not seemed like a miserable young wife. In fact, she seemed rather normal. Happy even. So, her marriage could not be too terrible. The blonde eventually concluded that there was no way that she would ever understand it, but that was not really any of her business either. She was just really relieved that it sounded as though Snotlout had grown up in her absence.

And with that yak-bomb of a conversation out of the way, the two continued on their way again. It was not too long after that that Hiccup announced they were almost there. Astrid did not take more than three or four steps after the words left his mouth before she was forced to shield her eyes. What had seemed like a section of dark, never ending forest just moments before, had suddenly given way to bright orange-tinted sunlight. They had arrived at a ravine, which she supposed was the cove that they sought, just off Ravens Point. Once her eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light, a smile broke across her face. Below in the ravine, lounged the forms of four dragons; a crimson Monstrous Nightmare, a tan and purple Gronckle, a lime-colored Zippleback, and an obsidian-like Night Fury, who were all very familiar to her. And if their curious expressions were anything to go by— _yes, dragons could indeed look curious_ —she looked familiar to them as well.

"I think they remember you," Hiccup observed.

"I think you're right."

All of the dragons that she had spent weeks secretly feeding and caring for in the Kill Ring during dragon training were present and accounted for; save one. Her smile dropped slightly at the realization. The green Nadder, the second dragon she had befriended after Stormfly but never named, was missing.

"Where is the green Nadder?"

"After we released them, only the bonded dragons stayed behind," he answered. "The Nadder and the Terror never really bonded with any of us, so they both left. I have no idea what happened to them."

Astrid was disappointed that she would not see the green Nadder again but the fact that it had not stayed on Berk, meant that the sharp class dragon was free to go wherever it pleased. She hoped that it had gotten far, far away from the Archipelago. Perhaps it had even down south where the hatred of dragons was not nearly as common.

"To tell you the truth, I knew that you released these dragons from the Kill Ring before you even told me," she revealed.

His brows drew together in bewilderment. "How?"

"The Terrible Terror somehow ended up on my island. I still haven't figured out how, but after recovering from the shock of him sneaking up on me, I recognized him. When I saw him, I knew you had fulfilled your promise. I knew that you were safe. He stayed with me after that and I named him Sneaky." Hiccup seemed shocked by the admission but she did not give him time to question it. They had more important things to do. "So, how do we get down to them? We're not climbing down this thing, are we?"

The cove had a dangerous looking cliff face that she had no plans of falling down anytime soon. She sincerely hoped that he had a better plan than scaling down it. She had not forgotten the time that she almost fell down the side of his house the night that she found out that she had been pulled out of dragon training. Although her reflexes and strength had greatly improved over the past two years, she certainly was not going to chance Fate.

"Well, that's how we got down there the first time," he answered with a sheepish grin of his own. Upon seeing the horrified look on Astrid's face, he quickly backpedaled. "But we've found a couple less life threatening ways down now!"

Her brow rose, "How's that?"

"Dragons, duh!" Hiccup responded, sounding suspiciously like Tuffnut or Ruffnut in the moment.

Instead of commenting on how much time Hiccup was clearly spending with the twins, Astrid rolled her eyes at her very obvious oversight.

 _Dragons_. Of course.

Hiccup whistled lowly and the Monstrous Nightmare rose up from where it had been curled up upon a grassy knoll and flew up to meet them at the top of the cliff. The crimson colored dragon landed with a whoosh and immediately knelt down close to the ground to let the two humans climb on its back. Hiccup jumped on with little hesitation. Astrid on the other hand faltered. She remembered the Nightmare's terrible temper two years previous. Although it had calmed enough in the time she was around it to allow her to feed it and stroke its snout, she never imagined she would ever ride on its back like Stormfly.

Seeing her hesitation, Hiccup smiled reassuringly and held out his hand. "Climb aboard, milady. Hookfang's calmed down quite a bit since you've last seen him, just like his rider."

The Nightmare—Hookfang, as he was apparently called—swiveled his head around to fix Astrid with a pair of wide amber eyes. He then snorted at her and a gush of light steam hit her in a way that was reminiscent of Stormfly's mannerism for coaxing her to do something. Deciding that riding Hookfang was unquestionably safer that climbing down the face of a cliff, she scrambled onto the crimson colored dragon's back and joined Hiccup. Just as her arms circled his slim waist, Hookfang rose into the air and quickly dived down into the ravine.

Having never ridden any other dragons aside from Stormfly and occasionally Windshear, Astrid was in awe of the raw power that the Monstrous Nightmare displayed, even for just a short dive to the bottom of the ravine. When they landed down in the cove, Astrid slid down from the Nightmare's back and gave his flank an appreciative pat. His long neck swiveled around once more and he nudged her shoulder in return with his snout. She could have sworn he was smirking at her. **[1]**

Why did it always seem like dragons were smirking at her?

"It's nice to see you again too, Hookfang," she murmured with a soft laugh.

Her attention was then stolen by two lime colored heads that appeared on either side of her shoulders. The Zippleback—whose name she did not know yet—greeted her by lightly bashing their heads into the sides of her temples. Astrid was stunned by the gesture; not because it hurt, but because it reminded her so much of something the twins would do. She immediately reasoned that the twins had to have bonded with the Zippleback and that it had picked up on some of their bizarre mannerisms.

The tan and purple Gronckle began to cautiously approach her at that point, but before it made it very far, it was bowled over by a very excited ebony colored dragon. Seemingly unable to contain himself, Toothless promptly knocked Astrid down to the ground. For a split second, she was terrified that he was going to attack her, but then his tongue dropped out of his currently toothless mouth and he proceeded to simply to lick her to death.

Once again, she was stunned by the docile behavior of a dragon that she had known to be so temperamental. Several emotions passed through her at once; confusion, amusement, affection, and lastly, disgust. Disgust because as his long, pink tongue slid across her skin, it left a coat of thick, sticky dragon saliva behind. It seconds, her entire person was completely covered in the stuff. Even worse, it held the distinct scent of fish odor. While it was all fine and dandy that Toothless was happy to see her again, she did not really appreciate _this_ form of greeting. She tried to push him off of her, but Toothless had an obvious advantage over the much smaller Viking. Her protests did nothing to stop him.

Seeing Astrid's distress, Hiccup finally stepped up and tried to admonish his dragon through deep peals of laughter, "Toothless! Give her some air, bud!"

It took a few more tries, but finally, at Hiccup's insistence, Toothless released her from his slimy tongue and backed away from her with a low whine. Astrid pulled herself back up to her feet and tried in vain to wipe the saliva off of her. It did little good. To her dismay, the more that she fussed with it, the more that the saliva seemed to fix itself into her clothing.

"Perfect! Just great!" She exclaimed sarcastically and turned to Hiccup with a frown, "I didn't bring any spare clothes with me. What am I supposed to do now? Still think I smell good now, Haddock?"

"Erm, yeah, that stuff doesn't exactly wash out," he replied, ignoring her jab. His laughter dissipated and his expression fell into one of guilt. "You may still want to take a dip in the pond, though."

She mock glared at him, "Fine. Turn around."

With a blush, Hiccup did as she instructed and quickly busied himself fussing with Toothless' prosthetic, which seemed to have had some improvements made to it since she had last seen it.

While part of her cared little for public nudity, especially having grown up in a Viking household and spending the past two years in the wild, there was something still intensely embarrassing to think of Hiccup seeing her so exposed and vulnerable. Despite her early salacious thoughts in the Great Hall, now that a prime opportunity to act upon them was staring her right in the face, she found that she was certainly not ready to bare herself to him in that manner or make any overtly flirtatious advances towards him. Sensuous kisses and explorative touching were one thing, but going all the way…

No, neither of them were ready for that.

After taking at peek at him to make sure that he himself was not cheating and peeking at her, she quickly loosened her hair and stripped down to her bindings to wash off in the pond that she was very thankful was located in the cove. She made quick work of washing the slime off her body but her clothes were going to be a different story. No amount of scrubbing would make the saliva come out. She needed soap, which she obviously did not have at the moment. After doing all she could to wash away the grime from her bare skin, Astrid strode back to shore and gathered her pile of soiled clothing. She then waded back into the water with them and tried to scrub at them. Just as she expected, it did little good.

Once she was redressed in her wet clothes, she began to deftly tie her hair in a single plait down her back—the same fashion that she used to wear her hair in before her exile. Despite not having tied her hair off in such a manner for years, the motions came back to her easily. In no time at all, she was finished and after tying off the end with a piece of cloth, she marveled at the feeling of her heavy braid falling down her back instead of being piled on top of her hair.

Lastly, out of habit, she strapped Heather's battle axe to her back in lieu of having her own. She did not bother with her hood scarf or cloak and left them in a heap by the water's edge. There was no need for them at the moment. Deeming herself acceptable at that point, she told Hiccup that it was safe to turn back around. He quit his guise of messing with Toothless' tail and did just that.

Hiccup grinned, seeing that her hair was in a single braid once more. "You look beautiful, milady," he complimented with a deep blush.

Her chest warmed at his words and an involuntary blush spread across her cheeks to match his. Hiccup had not lost his boyish charm or his effect on her. Astrid suddenly found herself hoping that the others would take their time getting to the cove—if only to spend more time with catching up on all that she had missed. Her gaze involuntarily dropped to his full lips. She really wanted to kiss him again. They had much to catch up on after all. But no sooner had the thought crossed her mind, a great commotion from up above at the top of the cliff face redirected her attention.

The cavalry had arrived.

She suppressed a groan at their terrible timing.

"Oh look," Hiccup observed with a smile, completely oblivious to Astrid's rising disappointment. "Ruff, Tuff, and Fishlegs are here!"

Indeed, when Astrid turned her blue gaze to where the ruckus was coming from, she saw the familiar forms of Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs emerge from the forest. The cause of the noise quickly became apparent. Tuffnut and Fishlegs appeared to be arguing about something of some sort while Ruffnut watched them with an amused smile and a shake of her head. It was a rare scene if there ever was one. Two years ago it would have been Ruff and Tuff arguing with each other and Fishlegs quietly observing. Apparently, all the time spent with his boisterous wife had brought the husky blond boy— _man_ , she mentally corrected herself—out of his shell.

As the trio approached the ravine's edge, she took note of the fact that apart from their interactions with one another, they really had not changed much physically. Perhaps, Fishlegs lost a bit of weight. Astrid mused that that was no doubt from not having his mother's cooking every day. If she remembered correctly, Ruffnut was not the best cook in the world. Astrid herself was not either, but that was beside the point.

Astrid expected that their dragons would fly up to meet them as Hookfang had done for her and Hiccup, but Tuffnut instead grabbed ahold of a concealed rope secured to the side of the cliff and began to expertly climb his way down. Fishlegs followed after, showing surprisingly nimble ability for someone of a larger size. Lastly, Ruffnut scaled her way down after her husband. When they reached the bottom, Fishlegs and Tuffnut resumed their argument. Whatever they were discussing seemed to be rather serious. In fact, they paid little mind to Hiccup or Astrid for that matter.

The only one of the three who seemed to care about the exiled blonde's presence was Ruffnut.

"Astrid!"

The female's twin's feet had barely touched the ground before she was running in Astrid's direction. Astrid did not even have time to prepare herself before Ruffnut abruptly tackled her in a hug. The blondes promptly tumbled down to the ground. In Astrid's case, it was the second time that day that she had been bowled over from the force of a greeting.

"Ugh," she groaned, "was that really necessary?"

"Think of this as payback for when you cheated in that spar we had two years ago," Ruffnut giggled from above her but thankfully, rolled away and Astrid was able to breathe again.

Astrid stood up and shot her overzealous friend a glare, "I didn't cheat!"

"Whatever you say, Astrid!"

Ruffnut's eyes ran over her friend's still wet form. "Woah, what happened to you? I mean, I know you and Hiccup got a little hot and heavy in the Great Hall but was a cold dip in the pond really necessary? I mean, it's kind of gross in there. All that algae and stuff—Barf loves it—but eww!"

"What? No!" Astrid exclaimed, quickly glancing around to see if Hiccup heard Ruffnut's comment. Luckily, he had joined Fishlegs and Tuffnut in whatever riveting discussion they were having. One look at the exasperated look on her lover's face told her that they were not missing much. Soon, even the dragons gravitated over to them, leaving Astrid and Ruffnut alone by the pond. "By the Gods! Why are you so dead set against embarrassing me with those comments?" She asked, turning back to her friend.

"I have two years to catch up on dirty, inappropriate comments," Ruffnut replied unapologetically. "You better be expecting them to be made regularly for the unforeseeable future."

Astrid frowned and rolled her eyes, "I'm quaking in the boots in anticipation, Ruff."

"The only thing you're quaking for is—"

"I _dare_ you to finish that statement."

Ruffnut grinned, "Why do I feel as though we've had this conversation before?"

"Because we have had this conversation before," Astrid deadpanned. "Multiple times, in fact."

"Oh! Right."

Since Snotlout had yet to arrive yet and the others were preoccupied, Astrid was thankful that she had some time to speak candidly with her best friend. "So…you and Fishlegs, huh?"

An uncharacteristic flush rose on Ruffnut's cheeks and she quickly looked away. "Are you surprised?"

Astrid shook her head. "Not at all! I mean, I knew it'd happen eventually. Your parents could only hold out against you for so long," she teased. Actually, she had not always been sure that that would be the case considering how firm Ruffnut's parents could be, but she did not have to tell Ruffnut that. "Hiccup said it's been two years."

"It has," Ruffnut confirmed. "The contract was signed a few months after you left. We married pretty quickly after that."

Astrid's eyebrows rose impishly. "If it's been that long, I'm surprised you don't have any little Ingermans running around."

To Astrid's surprise, her friend looked somewhat horrified at the prospect. "We're really lucky actually. I know it's not the norm amongst newlyweds, but don't think Fish and I are ready for a baby just yet. Can you imagine _me_ caring for a squishy little human being? When it does finally happen, Fishlegs is going to be that child's saving grace." Ruffnut meant the jab to be a joke, but the way that her voice caught towards the end told Astrid that there apparently was some truth to the statement as well. Ruffnut feared motherhood—feared that she would not be able to take care of her child as she should.

Truthfully, if Astrid thought about it herself, she shared the same fears.

But what young woman didn't?

Sensing Ruffnut's discomfort with their current line of discussion, Astrid wisely moved on. "So…anything else exciting happen while I've been gone?" she asked the question casually as if she had been off on some grand adventure instead of being exiled.

"I'm sure that Hiccup has filled you in on most of it." Ruffnut proceeded to give a short rundown of what she and the others had been up to in Astrid's absence and true to her word, they were mostly things that Hiccup had already shared with her. D.R.A.W.S. and Snotlout's marriage being two prime examples. But what came out of the twin's mouth after all that, took Astrid by complete surprise. "With you gone, he really threw himself into our training with the dragons and helping his father run the village. The little time he did have to spare, he was out searching for you under the guise of cousinly bonding excursions with Snotlout."

Astrid did not have time to contemplate the string of rather advanced vocabulary that had just left her friend's mouth, considering she was too shocked by what those words implied. "Me?" Was her first question. "Hiccup's been looking for me?" She would ask about Snotlout's involvement later.

"Of course," Ruffnut replied with a roll of her eyes. "Did you really not expect him to?"

The blonde shrugged. Somehow in all that had happened, the thought of Hiccup trying to find her had never really crossed her mind, especially since she had asked him not to follow her. Now, however, it seemed obvious that he would not listen to her. Of course, he tried to find her. They were talking about Hiccup after all.

"How long has he been searching?"

"Pretty much as soon as he had Toothless' tail fixed, he was off searching the Archipelago for you. That's how _we_ first discovered the dragons nest actually, but we never told anyone," she mentioned offhandedly. "It wasn't until Johann accidentally let something slip about someone with the name 'Astrid' trading a knife from him in the southern islands that he even thought about looking outside of the Archipelago. He and Snotlout tracked you all the way down to some port city in the southern islands but when they came back, Hiccup was really put out about something someone said to him there. I don't think he ever went back there again."

"Johann must've directed him to Port. That's where we initially ran into him, but we didn't _live_ there," Astrid bemoaned loudly, rubbing her hands over her face at what was obviously a missed opportunity for her and Hiccup. "We only stopped there every so often for supplies. It's no wonder that Hiccup didn't find me there."

While Astrid was talking, something shifted in Ruffnut's expression. Her eyes began to narrow and her lips pursed into a thin line. But before Astrid could question her on it, she was alerted to the fact that the boys had suddenly gone very quiet. Curious as to why they had stopped their discussion, her gaze traveled over to where they were staring directly at her with three very different sets of emotions playing on their faces. For Tuffnut, it was confusion while Fishlegs appeared surprised. Neither of those was too troubling. It was Hiccup's expression however, that took her aback. It was as if he had no expression at all. She was reminded of all the times before they had started their relationship when Hiccup had adopted the stony, emotionless expression of his father whenever he was around her. His eyes told a different story, though. His wide, green orbs were shining with— _hurt_?

"What? What did I say?" Astrid asked them all, genuinely confused.

"Nothing," Hiccup was the one to reply, but he refused to meet her gaze. "If you two are done chatting, we really need to figure out what we're going to do."

Bothered by his sudden change in behavior, Astrid walked over to where he was standing with the other two and gently placed her hand on his arm. To her horror, he flinched at the contact. Astrid shot a pleading look to her best friend, who had followed her over, but found that Ruffnut was avoiding her gaze as well. She did not understand how things had gone downhill so fast. One minute, everything was fine and now everyone was looking at her as if she had betrayed them all. Unsure of what else to do, she crossed her arms over her midsection and took a step back, putting space between her and Hiccup for the time being.

"So what's the plan?" She asked, trying to ignore the tension that had fallen over the group.

"Well, first I think we need to be caught up on what's happening," Fishlegs pointed out.

Realizing that three out of the five had no idea what had happened in the Great Hall, Hiccup quickly gave them a rundown of what Astrid had shared with the chief and how Stoick had taken it. Astrid's face flushed with embarrassment as he told them the story. Hearing it retold from his perspective, she was even more ashamed of her actions. "So, basically, Dad now knows about the nest and knows that he needs a dragon to find it." He turned to Ruffnut, "You said you saw him taking a dragon to the docks?"

"Well, no. I never saw anything," the female twin answered truthfully. "Snotlout just said that your father ordered for a dragon to be taken to the warships. I know there are a couple that we haven't been able to free from the arena yet, so I suspect they will use one of those."

"If they've chained a dragon up to the lead ship, they'll be able to find the nest. Won't they?" Tuffnut asked, uncharacteristically serious.

Fishlegs nodded, "The call of the Queen will be too strong for an un-bonded dragon to ignore. It'll lead them straight to the nest. We've all seen the size of that thing. The warriors don't stand a chance."

Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose, "Well, I don't see how we can stop them from going. Dad won't listen. And at any rate, they're probably already gone by now."

"We'll just have to go after them," Astrid spoke up, tired of feeling like an outsider to the conversation.

The others looked at her with mixed expressions of surprise and horror.

"So you suggest that when Snotlout finally gets here, the six of us take our dragons and just fly alongside the ships? What will we do when they get to the nest, anger the queen, and find out that they've made a terrible mistake?" Hiccup asked tiredly. She could tell he was not trying to be condescending about his question, just realistic.

"Whatever we can do," she responded firmly, her blue eyes blazing with determination. To illustrate her point, she had Heather's axe out and in her grasp faster than any of them could blink. "If we have to fight, then we'll fight. Do you have any better ideas?" she challenged.

Hiccup eyed the unfamiliar axe in her grasp with sadness for a split second before he snapped out of it and nodded in agreement. "No, you're right. I didn't want to do this, but we probably won't have much of a choice but to take on the queen ourselves. Once Dad and the warriors disturb her, we can swoop in and distract her. Hopefully, that will give everyone time to get away."

"Got it!"

"We're behind you, Hiccup."

"Time to give 'em the yak-bomb!"

The other three immediately responded in chorus, with Tuffnut going as far as to give Hiccup a salute. In return, Hiccup smiled at their enthusiasm, seemingly relieved that they were going to be by his side in all this. Once more, Astrid was amazed at how they all listened to his orders without question. He truly was their leader.

"I say that we take a moment to collect ourselves and get the dragons ready while we wait for Snotlout." Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut quickly left to see to their dragons but Astrid remained with Hiccup. He still refused to meet her gaze, even when he addressed when she made no move to leave. "Astrid, you should go find Stormfly. As soon as Snot gets here, we'll need to leave. We don't want Dad to get too far ahead of us."

But she still did not move.

Firstly, because there was no need to look for Stormfly. Considering the cove was near Raven's Point, Astrid knew that she was close by and would come when called. So would Heather, which would give them another rider on their side. Secondly, because she was too busy eyeing Hiccup suspiciously, unsure why he seemingly could not look at her all of a sudden. To her amusement, he eventually began to fidget under the weight of her stare.

Finally, when he could not take it anymore his gaze nervously darted to her and he whined, "Yes, Astrid?"

"Why won't you look at me?"

Hiccup shuffled his feet nervously, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Astrid stepped in front of him and took both of his hands into hers. His gaze remained stubbornly on the ground. "Something I said earlier upset you. It upset all of you. I need to know what it was because I don't understand." She released one of his hands, but only to force his chin up to look at her. His gaze was wide, green, and terrified. Whatever was bothering him, it was serious. "Hiccup, we don't have a lot of time and I can't stand the thought of you being upset with me when we've only just found ourselves back together again. Please just tell me."

"I heard Ruffnut tell you that I have been looking for you," he began.

Astrid nodded.

"When I went to that port city, I encountered a man who knew of you. I showed him a sketch that I drew of you but he told me that it wasn't really accurate. He told me that your hair was different, that you wore it up and braided around your head. My first thought was that you were wearing marriage braids, but I dismissed that thought pretty quickly. I wasn't going to allow myself to think that. But then," he paused for a moment and Astrid squeezed his hand to continue. "He said that he hadn't seen you or your mouthy dark haired friend at the tavern in about a fortnight."

She nodded silently at that, still confused as to what he was trying to get at. So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her. He knew that she was not married, she had told him that outright in the Great Hall, and he knew that she still loved him. What could possibly be bothering him?

"I tried not to let it bother me, but his comment has never really left my mind. When you were talking earlier, you said ' _but_ we _don't live there._ We _only stop there for supplies._ ' What aren't you telling me, Astrid?"

Her jaw dropped as the realization of what he thought she was keeping from him all but slapped her in the face. With all that had happened that afternoon, she had never told him about Heather! He was assuming that her 'dark haired friend' was a man! While she was annoyed that not only was he taking the word of a man in a tavern to heart and jumping to conclusions too quickly—especially considering that she had so thoroughly expressed to him in the Great Hall that she still loved him—the other part of her was amused by his unwarranted jealousy.

"Oh Hiccup, you can be so incredibly dense sometimes." There was no stopping the giggles that came forth from her mouth at the incredulous look on his face at her comment. "But I guess I can't really blame you. In all that has happened today, I haven't really been able to tell you what I've been up to over the past two years. You're not the only one who has changed. You see, I haven't exactly been alone."

Without waiting for his response to that revelation, Astrid brought two fingers to her lips and whistled loudly. They were not far from Raven Point after all. Surely Heather or at least Stormfly would recognize the signal. She did not have to wait for long. Seconds later, her call was returned by another whistle. She grinned to herself. Heather had indeed heard her and would soon be on her way. Then things would get really interesting. She could not wait to introduce Heather to Hiccup. More interestingly would be to see how Heather and Ruffnut got on.

Hiccup, however, was very obviously confused. She could tell by the look on his face that he knew that the return call had not come from a Deadly Nadder, much less any kind of dragon. "What—"

Astrid shushed him, "Just wait. You'll see."

Luckily, they did not have to wait long.

Not even a few minutes passed before her makeshift family descended down into the cove. Stormfly landed first at Astrid's side and nuzzled up to her rider. From their point on the other side of the cove with their dragons, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut eyed Stormfly in wonder, obviously having heard about her from Hiccup's stories but until now, had never seen her in real life. Astrid could not blame them. Stormfly's bright scales were very eye catching. After a few moments, Stormfly left Astrid's side to greet the other dragons who were also eyeing her curiously. Hiccup, however, completely ignored the Deadly Nadder. His gaze was locked on the pair remaining in the sky. Windshear and Heather took a moment to circle the cove, eyeing its inhabitants from above, before dropping down to land as well. Heather had her hood covering her face and like Astrid had worn genderless clothing as to hide her identity, just in case.

"Woah! What kind of dragon is that?" Fishlegs exclaimed in wonder from his place at Meatlug's side. Unwittingly, Astrid rolled her eyes at the question. Of course, he was more worried about the new dragon that had just landed in between them all than the human being on its back. "I've never seen one quite like that before."

"Windshear is a Razorwhip," Heather supplied, dropping her hood and scarf to expose her fair, feminine features. A series of gasps come from the Berkian dragon riders. "Hi! I'm Heather. You must be Astrid's big hunk of love that she moans about in her sleep," she joked, ignoring everyone's surprise and smirking directly at Hiccup.

To her amusement, both Hiccup and Astrid turned bright red at the suggestion of her words.

"I have no idea who you are, but I like you." Ruffnut chimed in, leaving her husband's side and sliding up to the brunette. "Anyone who can make Astrid blush like that is a friend of mine!"

The two females shook hands, introduced themselves, and exchanged cunning grins. Astrid resisted the urge to bring a palm to her forehead. If she thought Ruffnut's comments had been mortifying before, it was going to be ten times worse now with Heather now thrown into the mix.

"Heather, we're going to the dragons' nest," Astrid informed her friend, anxious to stop the teasing now before Hiccup was permanently red in the face. He had yet to speak and was eyeing Heather in confusion as if her presence had not quite yet registered with him.

Heather frowned, "Why in Loki's name would you do that?"

"Well, I _may_ have told the chief about the nest and then he _may_ have overreacted and now he _may_ be sailing off to find it with his warriors and kill all the dragons," Astrid rambled awkwardly.

Heather stared at her dumbfounded.

"There's no _may_ about it! That's pretty much exactly what Hiccup said happened," Tuffnut blurted out.

The brunette rolled her eyes but thankfully, took the news in surprisingly good stride. She turned to look at the silent lanky redhead at Astrid's side. "Well Hiccup, I'm guessing you're the boss man around here. What's the plan to stop all this?"

"Ah—w-well, um—" The man in question tripped over his words and rubbed the back of his neck in typical flustered Hiccup fashion. He was apparently still recovering from Heather's earlier jab.

"We're waiting on one other person to meet us and then we're going to follow after the ships on our dragons. If the chief and his warriors encounter the queen and are overrun, we'll serve as a distraction so that hopefully, they can get away from the island safely." Fishlegs explained as Hiccup was still at a loss for words. "Of course, this is all in theory that the queen won't try to fly after them," he muttered as an afterthought.

"As big as that thing is, I don't see how she could fly. She seemed pretty stationary," Astrid pointed out, thinking back to her run in with the dragon queen just a few days previous. The encounter was still vivid in her mind. It was not anything that she would forget anytime soon. "When Stormfly and I escaped the nest, she snapped at us from down in her pit but didn't bother trying to give chase after that."

"There's a big difference between you and your Deadly Nadder entering the nest in comparison to a bunch of Viking warriors," Fishlegs countered. "I'm not saying that you're wrong, Astrid, but it's just something that we all need to be conscious of if we do have to fight her."

"I agree," Hiccup suddenly spoke up, having finally found his voice. He rested a hand on Fishlegs' shoulder and looked at each of the people around him with a determined expression. "We need to consider all possibilities, not matter how improbable. Remember, this isn't just our lives that are at stake. It's our dragons, the entire village, and the dragons in the nest as well. We need to be very careful about how we handle this. We want as little bloodshed on both sides as possible. I don't want a fight the Queen unless it seems that there is no other option. Perhaps if we can get my father to see that it's a lost cause before he even enters the nest, we may have a shot of getting out of this alive," he mused aloud.

"How do you plan on doing that, Hiccup?" Tuffnut piped up.

Hiccup shrugged, "I don't know yet. I hadn't got that far in the thought process yet."

"Not trying to be a downer here, but your father isn't exactly the most cautious guy in the world, especially when it comes to dragons. He looks at it from a kill or be killed perspective. He'll be leading the warriors into the thick of the nest before they even realize that the queen is there. Once they do that, it'll be too late. We won't have much of a choice but to interfere," Ruffnut argued logically.

Beside her, Fishlegs nodded approvingly.

"So, from what everyone is saying, the problem is that we don't really know what my dad is going to do and therefore, we don't really know how to plan accordingly," Hiccup summed up, rubbing the back of his neck. He began to pace back and forth, continuing to ruminate aloud. "As much as I hate to say it, I think this is going to end up a wing it kind of deal. The only thing we can do is try and make sure that people stay safe in all this mess. We can't stop them from finding the nest now. Even if we were to free the dragons from the boat before they even make it to the nest, they'll just find another dragon to do it later. My dad is not going to give this up. It's better to put an end to this now instead of dragging it out." He paused and turned to his friends, a hesitant smile suddenly formed on his face. "Maybe, when all this is finished, they'll finally know the truth."

Everyone was silent for several moments in the wake of Hiccup's impromptu speech as they considered the possibility of his final thought. Heather, who had spent most of the conversation silently observing everyone, was the first one to speak. "You know, Astrid told me that you could be very persuasive but _Gods_! If you told me to jump off that cliff right now, I'd probably do it."

Hiccup flushed, "Well…it's nothing really. I'm just naturally long winded and I—"

With a knowing smile dancing on her lips, Astrid promptly shut him up with a light punch to the arm.

"So, what now?" Tuffnut asked the question that everyone was thinking.

The chief's son looked nervously up to the top of the cliff face and replied, "I guess we keep waiting for Snotlout."

—

As it turned out, Snotlout did not make an appearance until much later in the evening. It was nearly dark by the time that he finally made it to the cove. As he descended into the ravine using the same rope that Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs used earlier, he had a slight smile on his face. Astrid hoped that the reason for his smile was good news.

"It's a madhouse in the village right now, but I think you'll all be happy to know that Gobber convinced Stoick to hold off until first light," he announced as his feet touched the grassy ground. "I figured no one's eaten, so I brought some fish jerky and dried fruit with me. Oh! Hey, Hookfang! Miss me?"

Everyone, including Heather, sighed in relief. The fact that the chief was waiting until morning to launch his assault against the nest would not alter their plan by much in the grand scheme of things, but at least it would give them some time to rest before they left the island. As for Snotlout's greeting to his dragon, Hookfang barely made an effort to lift his head off the ground and instead released a puff of steam of acknowledgment. He was too content curled back up on his grassy knoll. Astrid assumed that was his designated spot. At this point, all of the other dragons were lying down like Hookfang. The exception was Toothless and Stormfly, who were chasing each other playfully.

"Where's Eira?" Fishlegs then asked, looking around for Snotlout's young wife.

"Well, she's not technically a dragon rider and she's never been in a battle before, so…yeah. She's back in the village," Snotlout trailed off uneasily. Although Astrid did not see anything wrong with either of the points he made, Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest and raised a singular eyebrow as if he did not believe a word that came out of his mouth. "We have no idea what's going to happen when we get to the nest and I didn't want her to get hurt, okay?" Snotlout finally blurted out. "Don't you look at me that way, Hiccup!"

Hiccup said nothing and merely smirked at his thoroughly flustered cousin while Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut openly sniggered at him. Astrid and Heather exchanged a confused glance with one another. They were both out of the loop on this one.

"I asked her to stay back with Gothi in the healer's hut and help her prepare for when we return. I—well, I couldn't lie, so I told them both everything I could about the nest. Gothi's going to make sure that she's prepared for the worst. Just in case." He turned hesitantly towards Astrid for the first time. He seemed unsurprised to see her there, so she had to assume that Ruffnut had told him about her being back on the island. She thought that he might be irritated at her for telling Stoick about the nest as Hiccup initially had been, but that did not appear to be the case. Instead, he offered her an unexpected small smile. "I can't really read the elder's runes like Gobber, Stoick, or Hiccup can, but I think she's happy that you're back, Astrid."

Astrid smiled softly in return despite the grimness of the situation. To hear that the ancient healer was still alive was a relief in her book. Like Johann, Astrid held a tremendous amount of respect for the silent, old woman who had always treated her with the utmost kindness, even though Gothi technically had never uttered a single word to her. In this case, it was her compassionate actions and her willingness to look past the differences of others that made her worthy of respect in Astrid's mind. The same could not be said about many others on Berk. The elder was truly a treasure to the island. Not to mention, she was a complete spitfire despite her old age. It had always been quite amusing to watch the frail woman beat Gobber with her staff when he translated her written runes wrong. That actually happened quite frequently. Astrid had always had a strong suspicious that he translated the runes wrong on purpose just to get a rise out of the elder and a laugh out of everyone present.

"Good, good," Hiccup muttered aloud, bringing Astrid out of her thoughts of Gothi. "I'm glad they're taking this as seriously as we are."

"So are we staying here tonight then?" Fishlegs asked curiously.

"I think that's the best option for us at this point," Hiccup answered. "I know some might notice our absences, but hopefully, with everything going on, no one will think much of it. We can set up a makeshift camp here for the night and then the seven of us will set out at first light."

At that, Snotlout looked around at those assembled in the cove and suddenly noticed Heather's unfamiliar face for the first time. Instead of being a normal person and introducing himself, he ignored her entirely and turned to Hiccup with a strange look on his face, "Wait a minute. Who's the girl?"

Heather bristled at his tone. "The 'girl' happens to have a name you know! And it's Heather, by the way. I'm assuming you're the 'Snotlout' that we've been waiting all this time for," she added hotly.

"Sorry," Snotlout muttered, fully admonished by her sharp retort.

Considering he was still confused by the brunette's presence, Astrid decided to help him out. "Heather's a friend of mine," she provided. "She and her dragon, Windshear, will be coming with us. It wouldn't hurt to have another rider in the air."

"Because two axes are better than one," Heather added cheerfully.

The two companions smirked at what had become their catch-phrase.

Snotlout cleared his throat, "Right. So, how do you two know each other?"

"Good question, Snotlout!" Ruffnut cut in. "In all the talk about the nest, we never got around to asking that either. How _do_ you two know each other?"

Heather immediately looked to Astrid, silently asking just how much they were going to share with Astrid's friends. For her part, Astrid shrugged. This was Heather's deal. Heather could tell her friends as little or as much as she felt comfortable sharing. The blonde herself had nothing to hide.

"It's a bit of a long story," Astrid remarked sheepishly.

"According to Snotlout, we've got all night," Hiccup said encouragingly, seemingly just as anxious to hear the story as the rest of them. "Let's get a fire going and then you can tell us all how you met."

From their quickness and efficiency, it was clear that this was not the first time that the Berkian dragon riders had camped out in their secret cove. After a short hunt for firewood and a helping hand from the dragons, a fire was blazing before them in no time at all. Astrid and Heather did their part by searching through their packs and were able to provide some furs for everyone to sleep on for the night. Fortunately, it was pretty mild that evening and sleeping on the ground under the stars would not be too uncomfortable. If anyone got too cold, they always had a dragon to snuggle up against. In Astrid's case, she not only had a dragon but a handsome man to cuddle up with as well.

"It all started about a year and a half ago when the Berserkers attacked my village," the brunette began once everyone had settled around the fire.

From the very beginning, the Berkian riders were transfixed. Hiccup, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut listened with rapt attention as Heather told the story of how Astrid and Stormfly had rescued her on the beach from the Berserker warriors, but could do nothing to save the burning village. Everything had been lost. After quickly glossing over the fact that she had almost attacked Astrid after returning to consciousness—she was still ashamed of that—Heather told them that her rescuer had given her two very tough choices: learn to live with dragons or fend for herself.

"After sleeping on it overnight, I chose to learn to live with dragons. Astrid and I have been traveling together ever since."

Heather stopped there and Astrid knew that her friend had no intention of going further. Apparently, she was wary of sharing her revenge plot against Dagur with people whom she had just met. So with the story seemingly at its end, everyone broke off into their own conversations after that. There would be no more planning that night. Hiccup's final instruction was for everyone to settle in for the night and get some rest as they would surely need it the next day. Who knew what was going to happen.

After the long day that she had had, Astrid found that she was not much in the mood for talking. Instead, she was content to listen to the others. So from her spot curled up comfortably at Hiccup's side, she listened as Fishlegs engaged Heather in a conversation about Windshear. Before too long, the two were chatting it up like old friends. Astrid shook her head lightly. Leave it to Fishlegs to be overly enthusiastic about a new dragon at a time like this. But then a glance over at Ruffnut made her frown. The female twin was suddenly glaring at the pretty brunette as if she could make her burst into flames on the very spot.

She thought that Ruffnut had _liked_ Heather.

Astrid's gaze wandered back over to Heather and Fishlegs, this time taking note of how Heather seemed more interested in Fishlegs himself rather than the words coming out of his mouth. The brunette's emerald eyes glimmered in a way that Astrid had never seen before, her mouth was curled into a soft smile, and there was a faint blush blooming on her cheeks. With a start, Astrid realized that Heather had taken a shine to the larger blond boy. She frowned at that, knowing that Heather's apparent crush would only end in heartbreak. Fishlegs was spoken for. He was completely and totally smitten with his wife. No amount of flirting, blushing, or eye fluttering from Heather would change that.

"I think Ruff is jealous," she jumped in surprise as Hiccup whispered the words lowly in her ear, clearly seeing the same thing she was. "I bet my left foot that when Fishlegs gets done talking to your friend, Ruff is going to go drag him off into some bushes for a little…alone time."

"Does that happen a lot?" Astrid asked, failing to hide her amusement.

Hiccup's smirk was the only confirmation she needed.

"We've all gotten used to it by now, even Snotlout. They've been married for two years now. Honestly, with as much time as they spend sneaking off together during training, I'm shocked that Ruff isn't pregnant yet."

She smacked his arm, "You're terrible."

He grinned, "I'm honest!"

"I told her the same thing, you know," Astrid confessed. "She didn't like hearing that."

"I'd imagine not. We tease them about it all the time."

"I repeat; you all are terrible."

"Honesty! It's nothing but being honest."

His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to his side. They fell silent after that and continued to listen to their friends' conversations while curled up against one another, using Toothless as support for their backs. Stormfly was curled up next to them. While the others seemed determined to fill the night air with endless and excited chatter, Hiccup and Astrid were simply content to be with one another again after so long.

An hour or so passed and eventually everyone began to quiet down for the evening. That being said, it did not escape Astrid's notice that while Tuffnut was regaling Heather with a story about his special feathered companion, Chicken, Ruffnut and Fishlegs went mysteriously missing for a good ten or fifteen minutes. When they came back, Fishlegs looked thoroughly exhausted and Ruffnut had a minxy grin on her face. The two promptly curled up side by side on a pile of furs nestled in between their respective Gronckle and Hideous Zippleback and fell asleep. Snotlout, Heather, and Tuffnut followed in slumber shortly after.

Despite how tired she was and even with the comfort of having Hiccup beside her, Astrid had a difficult time falling asleep that night. Fortunately, a glance to her right told her that Hiccup was still awake as well. In fact, he was watching her with loving, deep green eyes. With a jabbing motion of his chin, he gestured over towards the pond where they could talk privately for a while without waking the others. Perhaps it would be the perfect opportunity to work a few more kisses in.

With that in mind, Astrid nodded her head in agreement and rose to follow him over.

"I'm sorry that I jumped to conclusions about Heather earlier," Hiccup apologized as they sat down side by side near the water's edge a few moments later.

"It's fine. It was a misunderstanding and since I didn't get the chance to tell you about her, you really had no way of knowing," she shrugged it off. "So, just out of curiosity, did you really invite me over here talk about Heather, or was it just a ploy to seduce me like Ruffnut did to Fishlegs a little while ago?"

"Well, I really did want to talk with you some more, but now that I think about it, your idea is a little more enticing," Hiccup responded cheekily.

Green eyes met blue. They shared a hesitant smile and then promptly began chuckling to themselves. After taking a moment to catch their breath, Hiccup leaned over and captured Astrid's lips in a passionate kiss that stole the breath right out of her again. Nervous butterflies exploded in her stomach as he gently lowered her down onto the grass, not once breaking their kiss. It had been _so_ long. From that point on, all thoughts of talking left both of their minds in lieu of more hands-on activities. There would be more time for talking later. It was obvious they would not be getting much sleep this night.

What was to come in the morning could wait.

And when morning did come, they would face it together.

* * *

 **[1] I like how in the TV series Hookfang seems to like Astrid. The prime example of this is in** _ **Defenders of Berk: A Tale of Two Dragons**_ **when Snotlout and Astrid switch dragons for a day. This little scene here is meant to elude to that connection.**

* * *

 **Oh. My. Gods.**

 **I sincerely do apologize for the ridiculous wait for this chapter. Hopefully, an extra-long chapter will make up for that. As I mentioned before, sometimes it takes me a while to write and I found this dialogue-heavy chapter particularly difficult. The writing muses just wouldn't bless me with their presence for a while there. I finally got it finished a few days ago and then it took us a bit to revise the monster. Yes. Another monster chapter. I hope it was worth the wait! It was really fun to write the interaction of all the teens being back together again. This ended up being a pretty light-hearted chapter. The calm before the storm, if you will?**

 **In the reviews from the last chapter, I had several users comment on how much they loved Ruffnut's saucy comments and specifically asked for a Ruffnut/Astrid reunion in this chapter. Well, you got it! Personally, I love how many people have taken such an interest in the Ruffstrid friendship and look forward to reading it just as much as the Hiccstrid romance. :D On another note, I threw in some one-sided Heather/Fishlegs (Heathlegs? Fisheather? There's not really a good name for that ship…) on Heather's part in this chapter because although I'm a diehard Rufflegs shipper, Heather and Fishlegs are really stinking cute in RTTE.**

 **As for how this chapter ended, I purposely am leaving that up to your imagination to fill in the 'fade to black' with what you will. I will mention, however, that Astrid has made her thoughts perfectly clear on her intentions with Hiccup earlier on in the chapter when she has to take a quick dip in the pond. I'd like to think that Hiccup would agree with her.**

 **I'm thinking there is only going to be about three, possibly four chapters left. Yikes!  
**

 **Until next time,**

— **Mari.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet-haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly ( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two**

 _Astrid_.

She began to stir.

"Astrid."

She was not imagining it.

Someone was whispering her name.

"Astrid!"

This time, not so quietly.

In the early hours of the morning, Astrid was abruptly wrenched from a particularly pleasurable dream— _basically a repeat performance of what had occurred in the soft grass before she and Hiccup eventually drifted off to sleep the night before_ —by the feeling of something, or rather someone, violently shaking her and calling out her name. She opened her eyes, only to instantly them shut again due to the harsh glare of the early morning sun. But the damage was already done. Black spots danced behind her eyelids.

"For Odin's sake, Astrid! Get up!"

This time she was prepared for the bright light and brought a hand up to her forehead to shield her eyes. It took a moment to focus on anything in the midst of the black dots still swarming her vision, but eventually, Ruffnut's features appeared before her. In a normal situation, the very obvious distress written all over her best friend's face would have been suitable cause for alarm, but Astrid was not yet fully awake.

"What? What's going on?" she asked sleepily, still unconcerned.

"Hiccup's gone."

Astrid shook her head and without looking, gingerly patted the grass next to her. "Nonsense! He's right—"

Her voice broke off when she realized she was patting a cold lump of grass. The haze of sleep promptly left her as she twisted her body to look at…well, nothing. The space that Hiccup had occupied last night was surprisingly empty.

"He's gone," she muttered in astonishment.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "Really now? I had no idea."

"Why is he gone?!" **[1]**

Her blue eyes quickly scanned the cove, feeling more and more anxious by the second. Toothless was missing too. As were Hookfang and Snotlout. Yet Fishlegs and Meatlug, Heather and Windshear, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch, and Stormfly all remained where she had last seen them, seemingly still deep in sleep.

"I have no idea," Ruffnut answered. "I woke up a few moments ago and noticed that he and Toothless were gone. At first, I thought that he might be taking care of his morning business, but Snot and Hookfang are gone too. That's kind of suspicious if you ask me."

A horrifying thought suddenly occurred to her. "You don't think they left us behind, do you?" Astrid asked, voicing that terrible thought aloud.

"They better not have! That'd be a really stupid thing to do."

Her heart began to pound wildly in her chest. "Yes, but it sounds exactly like something Hiccup would do."

"What sounds like something I would do?"

The women whirled around to find the man in question standing not five feet behind them. Upon seeing the disappointment on his face, Astrid felt heat rush to her own in embarrassment. It was obvious that he had at least heard the tail end of their conversation. How could she have been so quick to assume that Hiccup left them all behind? The night before, he had made a point to say that they needed to work as a team. Running off on his own to play hero was _not_ working as a team. How could she have suspected him of doing that? How could she have doubted his word?

As if sensing her spiraling train of thought, Hiccup approached her and gently rested a warm hand on her shoulder. The warmth of his hand seared through her wool cloak. She tried to ignore the feeling and turned her apologetic gaze to his face. The hurt was still there, but he tried to mask it as he said, "I'm not going anywhere without you any of you guys. We're in this together. Every single one of us."

"Then where have you been?"

It was Ruffnut who voiced the question.

"Snotlout and I both woke up early and decided to fly to the village," Hiccup answered.

And then, as if on cue, he dropped the warm hand from Astrid's shoulder and turned away to look behind him as Snotlout and Hookfang landed soundlessly in the cove.

"Ah, look who finally decided to show up."

"Shut up, Hiccup."

The aforementioned redhead chuckled at his cousin's typical response to a jab.

"Anyway, it's a good thing we thought to check in on the village. Uncle Stoick must've had everyone up and moving several hours before dawn. According to Eira, they've got a good start on us." Snotlout put in, not bothering to dismount his dragon.

Hiccup's jaw clenched nervously. "Which means we need to get everyone up and moving in the next ten minutes. Got it?"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "Oh Hiccup, you're really hilarious! Have you ever tried waking up my brother _or_ my husband? Because I'd really like to see you try. It's like trying to move a pair of dead yaks."

"Was that a challenge I heard in your voice?" Snotlout asked, sounding like a giddy child on Snoggletog morning.

Ruffnut shrugged, "I don't know. What if it was?"

Snotlout hummed thoughtfully and glanced at Hiccup. For his part, Hiccup glared at Snotlout, but the Jorgenson maintained his pleading glance. After a few more moments of silent communication between the two cousins, Hiccup threw his hands up in exasperation and Snotlout looked back at Ruffnut with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Challenge accepted."

The next several minutes passed in a flurry of rambunctious activity as very determined Snotlout and a reluctant-at-best Hiccup, tried to wake up the two slumbering Berkian riders. Ruffnut merely leaned against her half of the dragon and invited Astrid to take a prime seat next to her to watch what was apparently going to be a grand event. Heather awoke during the fuss and joined the two women, having quickly decided that she wanted no part in what Snotlout and Hiccup were doing. Apparently, Ruffnut had forgotten her jealousy from the night before because she and Heather quickly began taking bets on which side would win—the ones sleeping or the ones attempting to do the waking. Astrid meanwhile was trying to figure out how they had gotten themselves into such a frivolous situation during what was supposed to be a very serious time.

For a solid ten minutes, Hiccup and Snotlout tried just about everything imaginable to wake their two slumbering friends. But as Ruffnut had said, it was all in vein. There was only one way to wake up a Thorsten or in Fishlegs' case, an honorary Thorsten. Eventually, the female twin took pity on them. She abruptly stood up and in a shrill voice screamed out something about being late for _dagmál_ and that all the food was going to be gone if they did not wake up. Miraculously, in the blink of an eye, both Fishlegs and Tuffnut were sitting up and rubbing their bleary eyes.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Everyone was dumbfounded that the solution had been so simple.

"That's it?!" Hiccup finally exclaimed, uncharacteristically being the one to lose his cool first. "All we had to do was tell you the food was going to be gone and you guys woke up? Odin Almighty! Snotlout slapped you both in the face with a rotten fish and you didn't move, but Valhalla forbid you miss _dagmál_!"

Fishlegs and Tuffnut both exchanged a sheepish glance.

"She does that to you too then?" Tuffnut asked his brother-in-law quietly.

Fishlegs nodded with a frown.

"That's rough, man. But, you know, I tried to warn you about her."

Hiccup smacked his palm to his forehead and muttered about his friends making him loose his sanity.

"I hate to be the one to break this up, but it's getting later. Every minute we stand here, they're gaining distance on us. Weren't you the one who said that we needed to get moving as soon as possible," Astrid reminded him as she gestured to the lightening sky above them.

"Right, right," Hiccup responded, mostly to himself. He took a few measured breaths before addressing his audience of friends. Everyone, even Heather, looked at him expectedly. Astrid could tell that the attention and the stress of the situation were getting to him, but as per usual, he was hiding it quite well from the others. "Alright guys, you know the plan. Mount your dragons, get into the air, and we will head for the nest. Stay high enough in the clouds so that no one can see you. We'll fly in a revised version of our standard diamond formation. Any questions?"

Tuffnut raised his hand.

The Chief's son looked at the raised hand for a split second before pursing his lips to hide his smirk. "Alright. If there aren't any questions, let's go!" He effortlessly slung his body onto Toothless' back, who was waiting patiently at his side, and the pair promptly shot off into the bright morning sky.

Ruffnut openly sniggered but still patted her twin reassuringly on the back as he deflated with Hiccup's dismissal. Astrid tried her best to hide her own smile as she looked up towards the sky, under the not-so-out-of-the-question guise of appreciatively watching the forms of her lover and his dragon disappear into the cloud cover.

"Was your question even important?" Fishlegs could not help but ask as he mounted his own dragon.

Tuffnut thought for a moment before responding with, "Nah, probably not."

Snotlout groaned.

In a matter of minutes, the Berkian riders had their makeshift campsite packed away and one by one, they flew off into the clouds after Hiccup. After sparing her companion a questioning glance, Heather followed them. Astrid found herself the only one remaining in the cove. She looked around and her eyes eventually fell on the sweet patch of grass that she and Hiccup had laid on the night before.

When Astrid did not move for several moments, Stormfly chirped worriedly and nosed at her rider.

Her blue gaze tore away from that spot of grass and fell on her dearest friend, her only companion before Heather, the only constant she had in her life after her banishment from Berk. She was stalling the inevitable, she knew that she was.

"Are you ready for this, Stormfly?"

The colorful Nadder bobbed her head.

"How can you be so sure? I don't feel ready at all," the blonde muttered softly. "How did I get us into this mess?" **[2]**

Stormfly affectionately nipped at Astrid's golden hair that after two years was finally back in the style of a long braid.

"I suppose you're right, girl. We've fought against Berserkers for the past year and a half. How bad can a dragon's nest be? Right?"

Stormfly cocked her head and rapidly blinked her amber colored eyes.

"Right," Astrid repeated and took a deep breath. "Well, let's do this then."

Due to her need to collect herself before setting off to the nest, they had to push to catch up with the rest of the group. Fortunately, Stormfly was the second fastest dragon in the rider's arsenal after Toothless and they were able to make up the distance in no time at all. When they reached the other riders, Astrid was entirely unsurprised that the 'revised diamond flying formation' was not going well.

"Guys! This is a little tight on the diamond!" Fishlegs groaned from where he was squished between his dragon and the twins'. Tuffnut cackled madly while Ruffnut leaned over the side of Barf's head and smiled affectionately down at her husband.

"Look out! Five thousand pounds of flaming muscle coming through!" Snotlout cheered as Hookfang ignited his entire body on fire and the pair broke formation to fly ahead.

"Is he serious?" Heather called out to the group's presumed leader.

"Yup, ever a class act," Hiccup responded tiredly. **[3]**

At that moment, Stormfly glided in on Toothless' right and Astrid quickly added, "That's just Snotlout Jorgenson for you." At the sudden sound of her voice, both Heather and Hiccup looked over to her in surprise. Neither had heard Stormfly's near silent approach.

Being the first to recover, Hiccup's surprise melted into an easy grin. "What took you so long, milady?" he quipped.

"I just needed a moment," she replied with a soft smile of her own.

Hiccup's grin faltered ever so slightly, "But you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I promise."

When she caught Heather making a mock sickened face to Hiccup's turned back, her smile only widened.

Unfortunately, their lighthearted interaction ended shortly after that. They eventually fell into a natural v-formation instead of the initial diamond formation that Hiccup had suggested. Astrid and Snotlout took their rightful places on Hiccup's right and left respectively. Fishlegs and the twins were to Snotlout's left and Heather flew to Astrid's right. The closer the group of riders got to the nest, the more somber they all became. Their worst fears were only confirmed when they nearly had a harrowing run-in with a large group of fleeing wild dragons while still over the open ocean. It had only been the quick eye of Snotlout, surprisingly, that caused them to avoid a direct collision. She really had to admit that he had grown up in the two years she was gone.

They heard the sound of battle before they even reached the island. The smell of burning wood—likely the ships—filled the air. As they began to weave through a familiar maze of sea stacks, Astrid pulled her hood scarf up to hide her features. They were close. The scene that they finally came upon as they broke through the stacks was one of fire and ruin. The Berkians had broken open the side of the mountain with their catapults and in the process, rudely awoken the devil that lay in wait. _She_ had not taken kindly to the disruption. Every single Viking ship was up in flames. The once proud warriors were scattering, clearly panicking at the sight that caused Astrid's blood to turn cold.

In the daylight, the dragon queen was even more terrifying than Astrid remembered. Her giant blue-gray head loosely resembled that of a Deadly Nadder, but with a more pronounced under bite and a stubbed frontal horn and crest. Rows upon rows of dark, obsidian spikes lined her back. These slowly transitioned to smaller, bright crimson bumps and warts near the peach toned underbelly. In the open, her size was even more impressive. She dwarfed everything around her; even the mountain.

She was a monster. A hideous beast. Truly a creature of Niflheim. **[4]**

Directly challenging the beast and standing dangerously close to her clubbed tail were two very familiar figures. The hulking Chief Stoick the Vast and the hobbling form of Gobber the Belch served as a distraction as Spitelout Jorgenson and Phlegma the Fierce led the warriors away to the opposite side of the island. Astrid's heart nearly stopped right then and there. She may not have been a huge fan of the chief after her banishment, but he was still Hiccup's father. And Gobber! Apparently, selfless heroic sacrifice did not just run in the Haddock line. The queen clubbed her tail at them again and again and again, making the entire beach shake with each impact. Each time, the Hooligan chief and his dearest friend just barely managed to avoid a direct hit. It was only a matter of time before—

" _DAD_!" Came Hiccup's terrified shout.

Seconds later, the fierce battle cry of a Night Fury and his infuriated rider filled the air. The terrifying sound was quickly followed by a streak of bright violet light exploding against the queen's dark scales. The queen was temporarily stunned by the vehement blast, allowing her prey to escape to safety. But it was not over yet. The battle had scarcely begun. As their unified leader, Toothless and Hiccup launched the first assault against the queen and now it was up to the rest of them to follow suit. Astrid released a breath forcefully from her lips, causing her bangs to flutter against her forehead as she did so.

"Alright guys, this is it!" Hiccup shouted out to his squadron of riders. "Fishlegs, give me the specs on this species!"

Fishlegs was quick to answer, "Okay, so first off we've got a heavily armored skull and tail; both made for bashing and crushing. I don't think I need to tell you all to stay clear of both," he rattled off methodically. "Secondly, we've got small eyes and large nostrils. This means she likely relies on hearing and smell. The small eyes make for a decent sized blind spot. That'll work in our favor." He suddenly frowned, "Sorry. That's all I've got."

"That's more than enough, Fish!" Hiccup called back. "So Snot, Fish, Astrid, Heather—you four hang out in its blind spot. Make as much noise as you possibly can and keep her distracted. Ruff and Tuff—I need you to find out if she's got a shot limit. Remember dragon training? Yeah. Make her angry!"

"And what are _you_ going to do, Hiccup?" Astrid asked, slightly fearful of the answer.

He avoided not only her question but her imploring gaze as well.

"What I have to," he finally answered.

She did not like the sound of that.

"Hiccup—"

He cut her off briskly, "We're past the negotiating phase now, Astrid. As you've made a point in saying before, we will all do as we have to."

Unbeknownst to the strategizing dragon riders circling above, all activity below had stopped. Most of the Berkian warriors were too in shock at seeing some of their own, including their own future Chief, riding the very beasts they had come to kill that they simply could not move. This gave the queen, now recovered from Toothless' strike, ample opportunity to attack. The queen opened her mouth and released another deadly torrent of flames upon the distracted Berkian warriors. Fortunately, the Chief and Gobber were not in this line of fire, but several others were.

The attack brought Hiccup and Astrid out of their argument and the Chief's son was able to regain his bearings quick enough to call for a counterattack on the gigantic beast. "Remember, Ruff and Tuff, find a shot limit. The rest of you, keep to the blind spot."

The twins quickly broke away from the group and began hurling every insult they could think of at the queen. _Troll_ , _Buff-Elf_ , and _Bride of Grendel_ were amongst those various insults.

In the chaos that followed, Astrid lost sight of Hiccup completely. He and Toothless just…disappeared. But she had little time to dwell on that. She found herself with the rest of the group, excluding Hiccup, flying up behind the beast to hide in its blind spot. Snotlout and Fishlegs pulled their shields out and began banging their weapons against them to distract the dragon. Heather quickly caught on to what they were doing and began banging her axe to her own shield. From her back sling, Astrid too pulled out her own axe. Hiccup's axe. It felt so good to have it back in her hands after carrying Heather's with her the day before.

And with a mighty battle cry of her own, she swung.

For a moment, everything seemed to be going well. They were doing a decent job at distracting the queen from the Vikings. The noise did not seem to affect her— _unfortunately, it was affecting their own dragons more than anything_ —but at least she was distracted. The attacks against the poor scattering warriors below ceased. The torrent of flames pouring from her mouth stopped. The Berkians no longer held her interest. The queen's two beady black eyes were focused solely on the twins flying annoying circles above her head. It was not much, but for the moment, that was the best they could hope for. Astrid felt hope rise in her chest that maybe Hiccup's plan would work and everyone would find a way to escape. But then, to everyone's surprise, two additional pairs of eyes peeked open. Instead of facing scales, Astrid found herself staring directly into a giant eyeball.

"Guys! This thing doesn't _have_ a blind spot," Fishlegs warned. "With that many eyes, she can see everything!"

"What do we do now?" Heather called out from the opposite side of the beast's head.

Astrid thought for a moment before answering, "We stop banging our shields. It's barely affecting her, but it's confusing our dragons. Heather, you and I will aim for the eyes! All of them! We need her blinded!" She barked out as she made a slashing motion across her own eyes.

Heather nodded and steered Windshear into a more suitable position to fire spine-shots.

She then turned to the two riders remaining, "Snot and Fish, you focus all your firepower on her. Help the twins! Our only hope is finding a shot limit!"

Snotlout briefly looked over to Fishlegs, "Is it just me, or does she think she's Hiccup?"

Before Fishlegs could respond to the jab— _not that he looked like he would dare to do so anyway_ —Astrid exploded, "Hiccup isn't here now, Snotlout! In case you haven't noticed, he's off probably doing something incredibly stupid. So, in the meantime, you should listen to me if you want to live through this!"

"Why?" Snotlout tested her, falling back on old habits.

She really wanted to take back her earlier thoughts as to his growing maturity.

"Do you have a better plan?!"

He did not answer.

She knew she had him. But instead of goading him, Astrid ignored him and leaned from her seat to speak to her faithful Nadder. "Okay girl, it's show time. We've got to make these count."

Stormfly trilled in acknowledgment as her rider eased back into a seated position. The thrill of the hunt and adrenaline washed over the blonde Viking. This, what they were doing, was really nothing new. Battle she could handle. She could almost imagine that she and Heather were fighting Berserker ships instead of a giant dragon queen if she allowed herself to just give in to the feeling.

"NOW, STORMFLY! SPINE SHOT!"

At the order, Stormfly released a series of deadly spine shots on the right side of the Queen while Heather directed Windshear to do the same on the queen's left side. Many met their mark. Blood and clear juices squirted from the eyes at each impact the spines made. Unfortunately, a single, well-aimed shot was not nearly enough to blind any of the giant eyes. But it was enough to cause pain if the echoing groans that left the queen's maw during the onslaught were anything to go by.

Astrid forced back the guilt at attacking a dragon in such a brutal manner. She had not harmed a dragon since dragon training two years before. However, this was not just any dragon. This was a tyrant. A devil. A bully. A sloth. This beast forced other dragons to do her bidding. She terrified them into submission for fear of being eaten themselves. She was the reason why Berk was failing. She was the reason they had fallen on such hard times. She could have been the one who sent the Flightmare to Berk— _the monster that killed her father_.

Her blood began to boil.

This spawn of Loki could have been responsible for all of the Hofferson's misfortune. **[5]**

"I will blind her myself!" Astrid ground out, once more pulling her beloved axe from its holster.

Even Stormfly could not have predicted her rider's next course of action.

The Nadder was mid-swoop over the body of the beast, about to fire another spine shot, when Astrid suddenly stood up and took a leap of faith, jumping from Stormfly's back, down to the Queens. With the air rushing against her ears, she barely registered Heather screaming her name in absolute horror and calling for Windshear to hold her fire. She never heard the other riders asking what in Odin's name she was doing. She certainly did not see Hiccup's terrified face from where he and Toothless were patiently waiting up in the cloud bank for a precise moment to strike the queen's seemingly invalid wings. She heard and saw none of that as she landed hard. She tumbled and rolled, eventually falling ungracefully on her stomach. Fortunately, through it all, she managed to keep a tight hold on her axe. If she would have lost that, her death-defying stunt would have been for naught.

Instead of solid ground beneath her, Astrid found herself on a moving mountain. That's what the view from the queen's back looked like anyway. Her balance was shaky at best and she now had the unfortunate business of avoiding Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins' destructive blasts. For a split second she wondered if perhaps she had acted too rashly, but then pushed the thought aside. She was already deep in it now. Now was not really the time to second guess her bravado.

With shaky legs and her axe at the ready, she charged up the back of the queen's neck and all but slid down the other side. With her goal in sight, Astrid scrambled the rest of the way to it and unceremoniously buried her double headed axe in one of the beast's eyes. She suddenly found herself drenched in a mixture of rather unpleasant juices, scales, and blood. But that unpleasantness was the least of her worries.

With her brutal attack, the trembling beneath her feet increased tenfold. The beast began to stumble, heading towards the water and the still burning Viking vessels. One moment, Astrid was standing level and the next, she was on her butt, sliding. The movement was so quick that she did not have time to find anything to hold on to. She continued to roll with no sign of stopping. During the chaos, her precious axe slipped from her grip and tumbled over the side of the beast, disappearing onto the beach below. She had no time to mourn its loss. With both of her hands now free, she reached out and grabbed the only thing she could, a spike from the queen's crest. But if she thought that that was the end of it, she was sorely mistaken. As the queen finally stumbled onto the shoreline, the dragon raised her face to the sky and released a sonorous wounded bellow. At the sudden movement, her grip was lost and Astrid was tossed high up into the open air with only dark, blue ocean below her.

She clawed at the air but it did nothing to slow her decent. She now had the unfortunate pleasure of knowing what it felt like to plunge out of the sky with no certainty of stopping. If she survived this, she would apologize profusely to Hiccup for having purposely done the same thing to him two years prior, just to get him to listen to her. Above her, she could see Stormfly struggling to reach her, but the monstrous beast had the Nadder fully engaged. Stormfly could not save her.

Below her, the ocean was growing ever closer. Her only hope was the other riders, but she did not see them. Where was Hiccup? Where was Heather? Where were Ruffnut and Tuffnut? Fishlegs? Hel, she would even take Snotlout at the moment. She had come much too far to give it all up now.

But she was falling, falling.

The impact of landing on the queen's back was nothing compared to the shock of plunging into the cold Archipelago seas. The cold made her want to gasp, but she knew better. Her mouth remained tightly shut. Even still, the breath was stolen from her lungs. The water crushed her. It filled her nose. She struggled to kick upwards towards the surface but the weight of her cloak pulled her down. She sank, the light from above quickly losing out to the darkness of the deep. Her eyes fell shut. She went limp and dropped, further and further below.

This was how it was going to end.

A monster, a leap of faith, and the cold crushing depths of the sea.

Her eyes flew back open when something latched on to her limp, outstretched arms. Auburn hair and green eyes. She knew that face. The floating form of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was directly in front of her, drawing his arms around her, and kicking them both back up towards the light. Soon, her eyes made out the dark form of Toothless above them. Hiccup pulled them both onto the saddle. They broke the surface of the water with a shared gasp and Toothless shot up in the air, making for the beach. Hiccup said nothing and neither did she, but she appreciated the way he cradled her shivering form tightly to his chest.

She was tired. Oh so tired.

And Hiccup was warm. So very warm.

He leaned forward and abruptly pressed his lips to hers.

"I-I'm fine, Hic. I can b-breathe," she muttered disjointedly.

"I'm not trying to help you breathe, Astrid. I'm trying to kiss you!" He exclaimed, chuckling lightly. Water dripped from his hair onto his face. "Gods, I thought I lost you!"

She could not come up with the words to respond to that, even though she really wanted to. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. Everything was…fuzzy, blurry. She was barely aware of their landing or when Hiccup laid her down on the soft sand of the beach. She was not aware of her constant shivering. She was not aware of the Vikings rushing to their aid. She was not aware of the queen continuing her rampage or the other riders' efforts to distract her. **[6]**

All she focused on were _his_ eyes and _his_ face. Hiccup. He had saved her.

"So beautiful…"

" _Hiccup_!"

The beautiful green eyes turned away from her.

Astrid blinked.

Now that he was no longer kneeling over her, she came back to. She was lying on her back in the sand, staring up at the bright blue sky above her. With some effort, she sat up and surveyed her surroundings. All around her, several Vikings were huddled. Every single one of them stared directly at her. Some faces held shock, some held anger, while others still held rare admiration. The mixture of emotions confused her. For the life of her, she could not figure out what they could possibly be staring at. To them, she was nothing more than a stranger. Why did they seem to stare as if they knew her? Yet before she was able to figure that alarming detail out, the crowd suddenly began to part for an equally alarming figure.

"Hiccup!" Hiccup's father shouted out again.

It was the Chief that had garnered Hiccup's attention, Astrid realized. He weaved his way through the sparse crowd of warriors and grabbed ahold of his son, wrenching Hiccup back up to his feet, and crushed him in a hug. Hiccup struggled for a few moments, his feet uselessly kicking against air, before finally consigning to the hug. Stoick eventually set him down and turned to look squarely at… _her_.

"Astrid Hofferson," the Chief began.

"No longer a Hofferson," she mumbled under her breath before she could stop herself.

Luckily, the Chief did not hear her cheek.

But Hiccup did.

"Dad, whatever it is you're about to say—don't. Leave Astrid alone. I think she's gone through enough for one day."

"I realize that, son. If ye would have just let me finish, I was actually going to say that that was the bravest thing I've ever seen," the Chief complimented her, a rare smile forming beneath his expanse of fiery red beard. "Ye've done the tribe a great service. Ye've made the Hofferson name proud."

Two years ago, she would have given anything to hear those words. Now they just made her sick to her stomach. Had he forgotten all that he had said to her in the Great Hall two years ago? She certainly had not. She had not attacked the queen as she had for the good of the tribe, nor had she done it to restore her honor. No, she was past that now. Honor mattered little to her now. Truthfully, she had not really been thinking when she did it. Most of it had been pure instinct and nerve. She had only done what she felt was the right thing to do at the time.

With those resentful thoughts running through her head, Astrid scoffed and looked at her former chief with hard eyes, "In case you forgot, I'm no longer a Hofferson. I didn't do any of this for Berk, I didn't do it for you, and I certainly didn't do it for _Herleva Hofferson_. I did it for myself. And because it was the right thing to do."

Stoick's face grew grim. She knew she was not really in any place to speak to the Chief of Berk in such a disrespectful manner, especially in front of an audience, but she could not help herself. It needed to be said. What was even better was the fact that Stoick knew she was right. His face might have been grim, but not from anger. Rather he seemed ashamed. Even more surprising, he was rendered speechless. So with that in her favor, she tried to stand. She wanted to be the one to have the last word and be able to walk away with her head held high. But as soon as she got to her feet, her knees gave out and she found herself falling back towards the ground. Or, at least that is what would have happened had Hiccup not caught her.

No sooner had Hiccup steadied her did Heather and Windshear land next to them. Their arrival broke the three out of what surely would have been a very tense situation following Astrid's impromptu speech. The banished Berkian could honestly say that she was unsurprised that her friend had come to make sure that she was okay. She was sure Ruffnut would have done the same had she not shared half a dragon with her twin brother.

"That was the stupidest, craziest, insane…most _badass_ thing I have ever seen, Astrid!" The brunette immediately began ranting before she was even off Windshear's back. Despite the worry lines on her face, she was also fighting a smirk.

Typical Heather.

And then to Astrid's surprise, Heather rushed forward and embraced her in a hug worthy of a Haddock—tight and unrelenting. It took Astrid completely aback, as she and Heather had never really been ones for emotion or affection of any sort. They were friends, companions. They had each other's backs and they trusted the other's abilities. They had been in several near death scenarios before, but somehow this seemed different. There was a real chance that she could have died that day. If it had not been for Hiccup, she _would_ have died that day. She would have drowned. Apparently Heather realized that as well.

"Don't ever do something like that again," Heather chastised playfully as she pulled away from the hug.

"Oh, I second that one!" Hiccup chimed in with a chuckle. Toothless then nosed at him, trying to bring attention back to the issue at hand—the queen. The black dragon began to warble and whine, even going so far as to snort impatiently through his nose a few times to get his human's attention. "Yeah, you got it bud. Now that I know Astrid is okay, we need to get back up there."

But before Hiccup could move, his father reached out and grasped his forearm. "Hiccup, you don't have to go up there."

"Yeah, actually I do, Dad," Hiccup argued.

"We're Vikings. We can handle it."

"We're Vikings! It's an occupational hazard. I get it," Hiccup recited mockingly, shaking his head. "But you don't! This is way out of your league. For once in your life just trust me! We know what we're doing…well, mostly anyway," he added the last part under his breath.

Stoick stared at him for a moment, as if finally seeing Hiccup as he truly was and not what Stoick wanted him to be. "Hiccup," he began quietly. "I'm sorry…for well, everything."

"Yeah, me too," The chief's son responded sadly, not missing a beat. "But I'm not really the one you should be apologizing to, or thanking, for that matter."

With that, Stoick dropped Hiccup's arm and let him slip onto Toothless' saddle.

Astrid had seen and heard enough. "I'm coming with you," she announced, struggling to get to her feet. That was easier said than done. She began swaying as soon sat up. Still, she was going up there. She had no idea where Stormfly was, but that did not matter. She could ride passenger on Windshear or Toothless until they found her.

"No," Hiccup and Heather immediately chorused.

"You're too weak, Astrid," Heather pointed out softly, not wanting to upset her friend. "You're in no condition to fight now. You did your part and it was incredible, but now it's time for you to let us handle this."

"She's right," Hiccup nodded in agreement. "As I told my Dad, I—we can handle this. I have a plan."

Astrid glared at the both of them even though deep down, she knew that they were right. She was really not in any condition to do much of anything. Her entire body felt like heavy stone, she was so tired, and if she turned her head too quickly, the world around her began to spin. But for some reason, none of that alarmed her. She had other things to worry about. Hiccup's so-called plan was currently at the top of that list. She knew all too well what his 'plans' could be like.

"Her wings. We're going to target her wings," Hiccup blurted quickly.

"And then what?" She prodded.

"Well, while you guys were attacking her I was up in the cloud bank observing her for weaknesses. I noticed something interesting. Before she breathes out her fire, a gas builds in the back of her throat. I think if one of us can get a shot at that gas, we can ignite it and blow her up from the inside," he frowned as he said the words. It brought back flashbacks in her mind of every time she had seen him make that face during a dragon raid. The thought of hurting a dragon upset him just as much as it did her. He continued, "The reason why we need to attack her wings is because she should be well away from the island before we strike. We don't know how big of an explosion it might cause and I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

And there it was. Another completely crazy, dangerous, fool-hearted plan thought up by Hiccup Haddock. Yet there was something different about this plan than the disastrous plan for the arena two years before. He seemed to have really thought this one out. That and he was relying on the others to cover him. This was not just some sacrificial stunt. This was a chief leading his people.

"That…that just might work."

"Why thank you, Astrid," Hiccup teased as he rubbed his hand against the back of his neck in his typical awkward but adorable manner. She blinked rapidly when her head began to spin again. He mistook the gesture for her rolling her eyes. "Your vote of complete confidence in me is stimulating."

"No, I—"

Whatever response she was about to give was stolen as the ground beneath their feet began to shake again. The interruption brought the assembled group back to the original point. The time for talking was over. She could not stall them any longer. She had to let them go, no matter how hard it was to know she was being left behind. The queen needed to be stopped—for the hope of Berk, for the hope of the dragons within the nest. It was time to end the reign of terror.

"Go. B-both of you. There's not much time," she said slowly, suddenly having trouble forming words.

Hiccup stared at her for a long moment, as if trying to decide if she was okay; which she was. She totally was. She was fine. Eventually, instead of saying anything, he pointedly looked at his father, briefly down at her, and then back at his father. Then, with his cryptic message sent, he jogged over to Toothless and jumped onto the sleek black dragon's back. The pair quickly took off, leaving nothing behind but a gust of wind in their wake. She tried to follow their movement, but her head began to spin even more.

With Hiccup's departure, it was as if her anchor to the conscious world was wrenched away. Her head felt much too heavy. She was only vaguely aware of Heather and Stoick's continued conversation over the sound of her teeth chattering. She supposed she was cold, but yet even with the furs bundled around her, she could not feel anything.

" _Go, lass. I'll stay with her_."

Gods, she was tired.

" _If anything happens to her, I know who I'll ultimately hold responsible_."

It was impossible to keep her eyes open now.

" _Aye, I imagine ye'd have to get in line behind my son_."

Heather's not so subtle threat went right over her head. Had she been in a different state of mind, she probably would have been horrified to hear her friend talk so brashly to the Chief—even though he probably deserved it. But the calling of sleep was becoming too strong to ignore. The last thing she saw from her huddled position in the sand was Heather giving her one last worried glance before the brunette climbed up onto Windshear's back and then…

Black.

* * *

 **[1] "** _ **He's gone.**_ **" /** _ **"Why is he gone?!"**_ **When I was originally writing this scene, for some reason I was reminded of the "The rum is gone…Why is the rum gone?!" scene from PoTC. I had a small giggle to myself. My husband thinks I'm nuts. ;)**

 **[2]** _ **"How can you be so sure? I don't feel ready at all," / "How did I get us into this mess?"**_ **Astrid is tough, closer to canon Astrid at this point. She will not admit out loud, even to Stormfly, that she is scared. This is about as close as it gets.**

 **On a side note: I always admire writers who are able to keep non-verbal characters (in this case, the nonhuman dragons) as important and completely loveable as the main speaking characters. This is something that I know that I struggle with. Just as Toothless and Hiccup, Astrid and Stormfly also share a deep, sacred bond. Scenes like this one are meant to elude to that.**

 **[3] The short diamond formation scene is taken almost directly from season one of Race to the Edge; Eye of the Beholder, Part One. I'm sure most of you know this, but I like to credit these kinds of things anyway.**

 **[4]** _ **Truly a creature of Niflheim**_ **. Niflheim, also known as the Land of Mists or the Land of Darkness, is the dark realm of cold and ice in Norse mythology. It is the final resting place for the dishonored dead and is ruled over by the goddess Hel, daughter of Loki. To say that the creature is one of Niflheim is to imply that the dragon queen is a creature of darkness, evil, dishonor, etc. Which she definitely is.**

 **[5]** _ **This spawn of Loki could have been responsible for all of the Hofferson's misfortune.**_ **We know that the Flightmare was not under the control of the Red Death but Astrid, or the other Berkians for that matter, do not know this yet. So I think it's perfectly logical that in her downward spiral of pushing back her guilt, Astrid could associate the loss of her family's honor and her father's death with the beast that has plagued Berk for so long.**

 **[6]** _ **Astrid's disorientation/unawareness to her surroundings when Hiccup pulls her from the water**_ **. The water that Astrid would have fallen in obviously would have been frigid. The symptoms that she is experiencing: shivering, drowsiness, confusion, trouble speaking, lack of concern for her own condition or what is going on around her, and eventually, the progressive loss of consciousness… these are all signs of mild to moderate hypothermia. A person with hypothermia typically is unaware of his or her condition because the symptoms begin gradually. Astrid's symptoms seem to come and go during her conversations on the beach. This is because her initial symptoms could be more contributed to shock than hypothermia. The shock begins to subside as she is speaking with Hiccup, Stoick, and Heather. Then the actual symptoms of hypothermia set in, starting with her not questioning how everyone could possibly know who she is if she is wearing her hood-scarf (in case anyone was wondering, it actually slipped off during her fall) and eventually ending with her loss of consciousness at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

 **So many footnotes this time!**

 **First off, I really appreciate everyone's patience with my extended October hiatus. I tried to get this chapter written before the end of September, but only got about a quarter of it completed before wedding chaos set in. The good news is that the wedding went well, the honeymoon was fun, and my new husband and I have gotten mostly settled into our home. That being said, I think if I rearrange our kitchen one more time, I think my husband might rethink our marriage (haha). Otherwise, things have finally calmed down for the moment and I can get back to non-wedding related things like writing this story again. :)**

 **I'm really excited to hear the feedback for this chapter. Basically, Astrid started the fight off in Snotlout's original role. Only, she** _ **chose**_ **to jump onto the Red Death's face…Snotlout** _ **accidentally**_ **ended up there in the movie. And instead of playing what looked like whack-a-mole with the Queen's eyes like Snotlout did, Astrid sinks the blade of her axe into one…so it had a much more profound effect and things kind of snowballed from there.**

 **I know I kind of left you all with a cliffhanger, but I promise, it really isn't one. I'm sure most of you can guess what happens next. When Astrid wakes up, she will find that a lot of things have changed. How? You'll just have to wait for the next chapter to see. I really did not want to dwell too much on the fight with the Red Death. As important of a scene as it is, there are a lot of things that I want to keep from canon nobody wants to read a complete rewrite of that. So hopefully, this chapter and the next will be a good way of dealing with that dilemma.**

 **Until next time,**

— **Mari.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet-haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly ( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Chapter Twenty-Three**

" _Wake up!"_

Was she still dreaming?

" _Astrid! You have to get up!_ "

That was Ruffnut's voice. Had they not had this conversation just a few moments ago? It seemed very familiar. She distinctly remembered Ruffnut screaming at her to wake up. But wait...they had been in the middle of fighting the Red Death. That came back to her next. Yes, she had jumped onto the beast's back and personally took out one of her eyes. Then she had fallen into the ocean. Hiccup saved her. But it had been so cold. She had been unable to think clearly after the fall. Her mind had felt full of some sort of vicious fog with smoky tendrils that slowly slithered in and took over her rational thinking. And then finally, somehow—this part was not clear at all—she had fallen asleep. That was the very last thing she remembered. So maybe the earlier mentioned interaction between herself and Ruffnut had not been so recent. The day before perhaps?

" _Astrid! Wake up! Right now!_ "

She had so many questions. Why had she fallen asleep? What happened to the Red Death?

" _Astrid! It's Hiccup!_ "

Ruffnut's alto voice was strained an octave higher than usual. She sounded extremely distressed, almost as if she was crying. But that was preposterous. Ruffnut Thorsten, now Ingerman, never cried. She never worried about anything. She was damn near fearless.

Astrid struggled to open her eyes. They were so heavy. Her head was pounding as well. It felt as though she had been bludgeoned with Tuffnut's favorite mace. If he had somehow managed to hit her with Macey she was definitely going to kill him. Damn Tuffnut. Damn her pounding head. Damn Ruffnut screaming nonsense about Hiccup in her—

"Hiccup?!" Astrid called out abruptly, her eyes flying open with little effort this time.

The first thing she saw was Ruffnut's pale face as she knelt over her and her stomach dropped. There were telltale signs of tear tracks on her friend's cheeks. Ruffnut never cried. She was bullheaded and tough; never one to show emotion. She was a Viking through and through. For Ruffnut to be crying, something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Astrid slowly sat up, being mindful of her still pounding head. Ruffnut leaned back on her heels to give her friend some space. The recovering blonde looked around for any sign of her ex-fiancé or his dragon and came up empty. No Hiccup. No Toothless. No Stormfly either, for that matter. Everything was quiet. Much too quiet. Stoick was gone. The other Vikings were gone. All of their dragons were gone. Everyone was gone, except for Ruffnut. Why was everyone gone? Where did they go?

"What happened? Why are you looking at me like that? Wait! You said Hiccup's name a second ago. Where is he?" she rambled frantically. "Where's Stormfly?"

Ruffnut visibly swallowed, "Stormfly's fine. She's…well, she's with the others."

Astrid could not figure out why her friend was still avoiding the question.

"And Hiccup? Where is he?" she pressed. "Where exactly are the 'others'?! You woke me up to tell me, so tell me!"

"I know, I know," Ruffnut stalled, nervously biting her lip. "But now that you're actually looking at me and waiting for me to tell you, I just can't bring myself to—"

The rest of her sentence was cut off as Astrid jumped to her feet, unable to take Ruffnut's babbling any longer. The blonde swayed only slightly before regaining her balance. Standing was not nearly as hard as she thought it was going to be. Now that she was back on her feet, she took in her surroundings. The beach is a mess of bodies, debris, and charred sand, showing the tell-tale signs of a great battle. She was about to ask Ruffnut who had come out the victor, but her answer laid upon the shore. There, lying half in the water and half out, she saw the enormous unmoving figure of the dragon queen—very obviously dead if burning flesh was anything to go by.

"The queen is dead," she observed.

"Yes," Ruffnut answered flatly.

She then wanted to ask how the queen had died, but finding Hiccup was much more important in that moment. Astrid looked away from the dragon queen's body and turned back to her best friend, who was now back on her feet and trying to gather control of her emotions, albeit unsuccessfully. Tears now streamed continuously down the female twin's face, only feeding the panic that Astrid was already experiencing.

"Hiccup?" she asked again frantically. "What happened to him? Where is he?"

Instead of answering, Ruffnut pointed a shaky finger past the still form of the dragon queen, indicating to a spot just a bit further down the beach. There was a gathered crowd of Vikings and a few dragons, their dragons…but it did not look like anyone was doing much celebrating as she would have expected given the queen's defeat. No, something was wrong. She could feel it in her bones. And somehow, it all connected back to Hiccup.

Panic overtook exhaustion. Her feet began working ahead of her brain. She was running towards the crowd before she even realized that she was actually moving. Ruffnut was hot on her heels. A few times she stumbled on clumsy feet, but the other girl was there to catch her every time. Soon, Astrid was unapologetically pushing her way through the gathered crowd of silent Vikings. In her daze, she did not notice how they seemed to part to let her through. Later, she would find it odd but in the heat of the moment, she was just grateful. It got her to the front fast. When she finally broke through those gathered, her feet skidded to a swift halt in the loose sand. The sight before her was one that would haunt her for many years to come, even after everything was said and done—the motionless silhouette of Toothless, a mangled and empty saddle upon the ebony dragon's back, and the hunched figure of Chief Stoick the Vast as he knelt in the sand next to his son's dragon in anguish. The chief, meanwhile, stared up into the heavens, openly displaying his grief. She could faintly hear him saying his son's name over and over and over again like a mantra. Yet Hiccup Haddock was nowhere to be found. Her own dragon, Stormfly, was standing protectively over Toothless' still form. She seemed to tolerate the chief's presence, but anyone else who dared to step too close was met with bared teeth.

 _No. No. No. No._

It could not be what it looked like! It was not true! She refused to believe it!

Blood rushed to her ears and her vision began to dance. For a moment, she thought that she was about to collapse again but then a hand grasped supportively upon her right elbow, followed by a second clutching onto her left shoulder. A quick glance confirmed Heather and Ruffnut's presence on either side—her two best friends, holding her up and helping her keep herself marginally together. Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs were there as well, standing a respectable distance back, and they too showed signs of grief. Astrid had never seen Snotlout look so pale and tormented as he did at the moment.

But ultimately, it was the look upon Gobber the Belch's face as he cautiously approached his lifelong friend and chief—mindful of a certain protective Deadly Nadder—that truly broke the blonde warrior and made her realize the gravity of the situation. If Gobber was showing such vulnerable emotion, how could she deny it any longer?

Although she remained on her feet, the tears welling in her eyes began to spill uncontrollably down her cheeks. An anguished sob built in her throat just begging to be released. Her hands balled into fists and she brought them to her face to rub at her eyes. She tried to tell herself that if she rubbed at her eyes hard enough, the nightmarish vision before her would cease to exist.

" _I did this_ …" she faintly heard the chief moan.

Truthfully, Astrid both agreed and disagreed with him. If he had not been so quick to react upon learning about the nest, the current crisis could have been avoided entirely. Yet at the same time, she also blamed her own stubbornness and weak body for what had happened. She had been the one to inform the chief of the nest's existence in the first place. Furthermore, if she had not have been in such a state after her fall, she would have been one more rider in the sky and maybe she could have saved—

She did not finish that train of thought because Stormfly suddenly began impatiently nudging at Toothless with her beak. At the Nadder's attentions, Toothless finally stirred and groggily rolled his head back, only to fix his luminous citrine eyes upon the chief of Berk. She watched with bated breath as Stoick leant down and briefly whispered something to the injured dragon. Whatever the chief said must have been important because the next second, Toothless unfolded his wings which had previously been clutched protectively to his underbelly. Astrid had noticed the Night Fury positioned in such a manner earlier but had thought nothing of it at first. It was understandably the weakest part of him and even in an unconscious state, a wild animal would still try to protect its weaknesses. Now, she was dead thankful she had been mistaken because there, locked tightly within the elusive dragon's limbs, was the unconscious form of Hiccup Haddock. Toothless had not been protecting himself, but rather Hiccup!

"HICCUP!"

The chief exclaimed as he threw himself at the still form of his son. He quickly pressed his face against the young man's chest to check for a heartbeat. Astrid bit her lip so hard she drew blood waiting to hear the chief's findings. She, like everyone else gathered, startled when Stoick promptly burst into laughter and broke the eerie silence that had fallen.

"By the Gods! He's alive!" The chief then boldly, yet affectionately, cupped Toothless' head in his meaty hands and cried, "You brought him back alive!"

Upon hearing the good news, the sob that she had been trying to hold back burst out without warning. It was one of relief this time, however, instead of anguish. Two pairs of arms then encircled her and Astrid found herself the middle of a Ruffnut and Heather sandwich. Not to be left out, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut promptly joined in the hug and for the first time since returning to Berk, Astrid felt at peace. She had friends surrounding her, Hiccup was indeed _alive,_ and the dragon queen was slain.

"Thank you for saving my son," Stoick said loudly, pushing away his pride and publicly thanking the Night Fury.

Toothless purred happily and pulled Hiccup's unmoving form even closer to his chest. But as he did so, his grip changed, revealing a previously unseen problem. Dark crimson blood stained the sandy beach. It was not dragon blood. Gobber hobbled up to the chief's side to get a look for himself. "Or well, you know, most of him," he commented, pointing grimly toward the lower portion of Hiccup's body.

The next several minutes flew by in a flurry of activity that Astrid had trouble following, but she understood enough. Although Hiccup had defeated the dragon queen and made it out alive, it was not without sacrifice on the young man's part. In place of a boot, Hiccup's left foot was a sickening mess of charred flesh and bone. Gobbler informed them that it could not possibly be saved and that Hiccup would soon need the care of a very experienced healer. Unfortunately for them, that very experienced healer was located all the way back at Berk. Upon hearing all of this, Astrid's mind raced with possibilities of how she could help. She might have been an outcast and she had no public claim to Hiccup any longer despite their mutual understanding, but damn it, she was going to help!

While Stoick and his war council were scrambling around to come up with a plan, Snotlout stepped forward. "Gothi, Eira, and a team of healers are standing by and waiting for our return. They were told to prepare for the worst," he interjected to the council nervously. "We need to get Hiccup back to Berk as quickly as possible. The ships are destroyed, so the only way to do that is by dragonback."

The war council immediately voiced their displeasure with the suggestion. It was not long before an argument broke out between the older, more conservative council members and the dragon riders who now that their secret was out in the open, viciously defended their reptilian counterparts. The chief, for his part, seemed utterly lost and did not know how to respond to the clashing of ideas. On one hand, a dragon had saved his son but on the other hand, centuries of war between Vikings and dragons could not be forgotten so quickly. Or could it? This was completely new territory that needed to be handled delicately. Unfortunately, they did not have the time for delicacy. They were also losing precious time by arguing. It was in all of this confusion and uncertainty that Astrid saw her chance to make her move.

"I will take him!" she bravely cried out over the voices of the others. "My Nadder, Stormfly, and I will take Hiccup back to Berk to be treated." When everyone turned to look at her incredulously, she quickly began to explain her reasoning, "Look, I won't get into specifics on how I've come to know this information, but Hiccup's dragon, Toothless' tailfin was permanently damaged when Stoick and Hiccup shot him down. He cannot fly on his own. Hiccup came up with a saddle system that allows him to assist Toothless in flight, but as far as I can see, that saddle system has been destroyed." Astrid briefly looked over to Fishlegs who nodded in agreement with her assessment. "Until Hiccup wakes and can fix it, Toothless is grounded. Now, Toothless is a Night Fury and ideally, he would have been our best and fastest way back to Berk. That leaves my Deadly Nadder. Stormfly is the second fastest dragon we have in our arsenal. Hiccup needs immediate medical attention. We are your only option unless you want Berk's heir to die!" she finished boldly and with a sense of urgency.

Surprisingly, no one argued with her logic. Whether it was because of the truth of her words, the memory of her ruthlessness displayed against the dragon queen, or the thought that she had a Deadly Nadder under her command— _even though Stormfly was certainly_ not _under her command_ —that convinced the Berkians, she had no idea. All that mattered was that everyone, including her friends, unanimously agreed.

"I'm coming with you," Snotlout later informed her as she was preparing to go. Before she had the chance to protest, the Jorgenson continued, "You can fly on ahead if you need to but someone has to go back and organize a rescue party for everyone who is stranded on this island." Unfortunately, she had not thought of that.

"Okay," Astrid agreed. "But I will not slow down for you. If you fall behind, you get left behind. Hiccup takes priority."

Snotlout flashed her a thankful smile, "I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

Before she knew it, Astrid was mounting her Deadly Nadder and once she was situated, Stoick placed his unconscious, injured son carefully in her lap. The ripped shreds of someone's tunic acted as a temporary tourniquet for Hiccup's mangled foot. The sight was sickening, especially up so close, but Astrid forced herself to ignore it and focus on what exactly was at stake. She had to get Hiccup back to Berk before any kind of serious infection set in. Already, Hiccup's forehead felt a bit warmer than normal and his skin was clammy. Neither were a good sign.

"Take care of my son," Stoick pleaded to her quietly. "May the Gods' grant you safe passage and swift speed."

Astrid nodded stiffly, not wanting the chief to see just how much this all was affecting her. As it was, she was still struggling to hold back more tears. Had she not cried enough that day already? Besides, the last thing she needed was for the chief to get the wrong idea— _or rather, the right idea_ —about her relationship with Hiccup and change his mind about letting her take his son. Luckily, she was spared from further interaction with the chief by Snotlout asking if she was ready to go. They left the island quickly after that.

For a while, the two unlikely companions and their respective dragons flew in silence. Much to Astrid's surprise, Snotlout and Hookfang easily kept up with her and Stormfly. They did not fall behind as she expected, even with her Nadder pushing her speed to the limit. Stormfly was used to flying at high speeds over endless expanses of ocean, but Hookfang likely was not. The Viking and Monstrous Nightmare duo's resilience impressed her. It also did not escape Astrid's notice that Snotlout would cast worried glances over at Hiccup seemingly every five seconds. Perhaps the Jorgenson had an ulterior motive in all of this and just did not want to admit to anyone that he cared more for his cousin than what he let on.

"You didn't come with me just to organize a rescue party, did you Snotlout?" Astrid finally voiced her suspicions when she tired of his staring. She made sure to guide Stormfly in a bit closer to Hookfang so that her voice was heard over the sharp winds.

Instead of arguing with her or brushing her comment aside, Snotlout did the exact opposite. "No, I didn't," he admitted.

"You're worried about him too."

"How could I not be? I mean just look at him!" Snotlout exclaimed, gesturing wildly to his unconscious cousin. "He looks near the brink of death!"

"He's going to be fine, Snotlout," she tried to assure him, even if she did not know if the words she spoke were the truth or not. "We'll make sure of it."

Snotlout began staring again, but this time he stared at her instead of Hiccup. His bushy brown brows began to scrunch together as if trying to work out a very complex puzzle.

"I was wrong about you," he finally said.

"What are you going on about now?"

"Hiccup is very lucky to have someone like you," Snotlout told her carefully. It only served to confuse her more. He tried again, "I'm not sure if you know this or not, but Uncle Stoick has been trying for months now to get Hiccup to find a new bride, but Hiccup has outright refused. He loves you, Astrid. He's always loved you. And for the longest time when we were younger, I couldn't figure out _why_."

Astrid nearly choked in surprise at the admission but he was not done yet.

"I knew about your betrothal for nearly as long as Hiccup did. My father was one of the witnesses to the original contract but after your father passed, my parents didn't understand why Uncle Stoick didn't try harder to find a way to null the betrothal. I overheard them discussing it a few times when they thought I was asleep. I didn't really agree with them, not at first anyway. Contrary to what most people believe, I really do care about my cousin. He was so excited about your betrothal and I respected that, even though I did think that he deserved better. But then you went and pushed him away. It really hurt him and I guess—well, I wanted to hurt you in return. That was why I was so hateful to you back then. Then, right before you left Berk, I could tell that something was obviously going on between the two of you. I thought it was all a trick and that your feelings were not genuine. I fell back into old habits and screwed up. I didn't realize that my own actions were only making everything that much worse. So I guess what I'm trying to say with all of this is that I'm sorry. I was just trying to protect _my_ best friend."

Sure, they were family and as different as they were they got along well enough, but she never knew that Snotlout considered Hiccup to be his very best friend. She wondered if even Hiccup knew that. Perhaps this was something that Snotlout had never told anyone, until now. That seemed like the more likely option. Suddenly, the many years of Snotlout's ridicule made a bit more sense. It had all been some gallant, yet very misguided attempt to protect his family. While it still did not make it right and Astrid was not sure if she could ever fully forgive him for all his bullying in their childhood and young-adulthood, she understood now. A previously unanswered part of her past could finally be put to rest.

"He always saw a strength in you that the rest of us didn't until you were gone. I was blind. We were all blind. I hope that one day, you can forgive me."

His final words festered in the air for a good long while.

"I—I don't really know what to say to any of that," the blonde eventually replied honestly.

Snotlout shrugged, seemingly unfazed. "You don't have to say anything. I just thought it was finally time you should know."

Neither attempted to continue the conversation the rest of the flight back to Berk. The quiet was not at all awkward or tense, rather, it felt as though a great weight had been lifted from both of their shoulders. A mutual understanding had formed between them. So for now, they flew on in companionable silence.

Yet Astrid's mind was running in overdrive. She could not stop herself from gazing down at Hiccup's pallid face from time to time. Even with the many cuts and burns marring his once smooth alabaster skin, he still looked incredibly handsome. If she tried hard enough, she could pretend he was only sleeping instead of unconscious from his fall. Snotlout's confession played over and over and over again in her mind. _Hiccup is very lucky to have someone like you_. Well, that went both ways. She was beyond lucky, and thankful, to have someone who loved her as selflessly as Hiccup did. She prayed to every deity she could think of to save him and allow him to pull through. He had sacrificed far too much in his short life for it to end so quickly.

They finally reached Berk at dusk. Astrid had never been quite so relieved to see the pillars of fire in the watchtowers as she did in that moment. The pair spared no time maneuvering their dragons straight towards the high, isolated cliff that held Gothi's hut. They just had to pray that the darkness would cloak their coming and that their sudden presence would take the villagers off guard, giving Snotlout ample chance to explain the situation before anyone attacked. And if that worked, they had to pray that the villagers would actually listen. They were riding on a whole lot of faith and even more uncertainty at the moment.

No sooner did Stormfly and Hookfang touch their talons to the ground did the first few brave Vikings nearby try to brandish their weapons. With Hiccup still cradled in her arms, Astrid was unable to do anything to make them stand down. Not that they would have likely listened to her anyway—she was supposed to be an outcast after all. Luckily, that was what Snotlout was for. She was suddenly very thankful that he had tagged along. He leaped down from Hookfang's back and stood protectively in front of her, Hiccup, and their dragons.

"PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN! he bellowed out, his commanding voice not betraying the panic he felt in the moment. "We need the healers! Where's Eira?! Someone— _hey_ , _you there_ —alert my wife and Gothi! Hiccup's hurt!"

Astrid looked away from the quickly gathering crowd of bewildered Berkians, who were popping out of their homes in droves to see what all the ruckus was about, as there was sudden movement in her lap. Hiccup stirred. His eyes did not open but he squirmed in her grasp and moaned in pain. Hearing the first bout sound come forth from his lips, even if it were from pain, just reassured her that he was still alive. She was so busy staring at him that she was completely oblivious to another's approach—the only villager aside from Snotlout and herself to be brave enough to step so close to a pair of dragons.

"We must go quickly now."

The blonde tore her gaze away from Hiccup at the sudden voice. She blinked, taking in the speaker. Although they had never met personally, Astrid knew who the other woman was instantly. Eira's reddish hair was pulled back haphazardly away from her face and there were dark circles under her eyes. Snotlout stood not far behind her, dancing on his feet anxiously.

"Come on! Pass him down to me. We have to go! I fear he has a fever," Eira insisted.

"You're Snotlout's wife," Astrid blurted out dumbly.

Eira raised a single auburn brow at the assessment, "Yes, I am. And I would reckon that you're Hiccup's long lost love. So please, pass him down to me. He needs to be seen to."

Unable to argue with that, Astrid shifted Hiccup from his position in her lap, lowering him down as gently as she could. Eira caught his limp form with a pair of surprisingly strong arms. Snotlout hovered behind her, prepared to steady her if need be but the smaller girl held her own. In fact, she gave her husband a reproachful glare that clearly said, ' _I can handle it myself_!' It was quite the sight to see Hiccup cradled like an infant in the arms of a young woman that was a whole foot shorter than him and to see Snotlout cowering away from said tiny women all because of her glare. If they had not been in such a serious situation, Astrid would have burst out laughing and mused that she liked Snotlout's wife already. She really was a spitfire, just as Hiccup had said. But instead of thinking on that too hard, she slid down from Stormfly's saddle and gestured for Eira to hand Hiccup back over to her.

"I'll take him," Astrid explained at Eira's questioning stare. "It's my fault that I got us into this mess. It's only fair." Thankfully, Eira seemed to understand Astrid's need to take care of Hiccup personally, even if her husband did not. Snotlout protested briefly until another sharp look from his wife promptly shut him up.

Soon, Astrid found herself walking as quickly as she could with Hiccup cradled in her arms up to Gothi's hut, which fortunately thanks to their selected landing spot, was not far at all. Snotlout and Eira flanked her either side, just in case Hiccup's dead weight became too much for her. She ended up being very thankful for their assistance as the stairs were a bit hard to manage on her own, a lot harder than walking on solid ground anyway. As they climbed the stairs up to the hut, Hiccup's whimpers and whines of pain became more pronounced. Every agonized cry was like a slap in the face for the already overspent and exhausted blonde. Yet Astrid once again forced herself to close off her emotions. Now was definitely not the time to let them get the better of her.

When they burst into the healer's hut, Gothi seemed completely unsurprised to see any of them. What did surprise the ancient healer, however, was Hiccup's condition. She took one look at his mangled leg and her face turned to stone. The other healers in the room looked equally worried by Hiccup's state. In what seemed like a complete blur, Hiccup was wrenched from Astrid's arms by the two other healers present in the hut while Gothi began gathering cloth bandages, a bowl of clean water, and several unidentifiable herbs in tiny little bottles. Astrid watched with unblinking eyes and a pounding heart as they laid Hiccup down on a spare cot and began examining his injury. It quickly became clear that just as Gobber had said back on the island, Hiccup's limb could not be saved.

"I'm afraid you and Snotlout will have to wait outside, Astrid," Eira informed her apologetically a few moments later after she and Gothi shared a brief, wordless conversation.

Astrid's mouth dropped open in protest but the words caught in her throat. She knew what was about to happen and although it would be absolutely unbearable for her to watch, she did not want to leave. Not yet. Not until she knew that Hiccup was going to be okay. But Snotlout began tugging insistently on her elbow, trying to force her towards the door that Eira held open for them. Having no other choice, the blonde mindlessly followed him out of the hut.

She sunk down to the wooden planks of the stairs as soon as Eira shut the door softly behind them. Unbidden, tears again welled in her eyes. She was so exhausted, so tired of being the strong one, and at the moment, she was so desperately afraid. Then, to her surprise, Snotlout silently sat down on the stair next to her. He did not say anything and neither did she. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him take his own shuddering breath. His face had gone completely white. He seemed to be struggling with his emotions just as much as she was. Snotlout's organization of a rescue party was going to put on hold for a while.

With the healers locked up in the hut with Hiccup, time passed in a blur. The sun dipped below the horizon, the moon slowly rose, and the stars appeared, twinkling brightly in the clear sky above them. A few curious villagers stopped by at various points, wanting to see for themselves that Astrid Hofferson was back—that was the Berk rumor mill at work—but luckily, no one tried to engage her or Snotlout in conversation, or ask about Hiccup for that matter. Despite their nosiness, they all seemed to respect the fact that neither were in the mood for talking.

She could not be certain of just how long she and Snotlout remained seated on the steps. She remembered hearing blood-curdling screams at one point, but whether those terrible screams came from her or from Hiccup, she did not know. She remembered Snotlout's arms wrapping comfortingly around her shaking frame for a short while, but instead of getting angry at his unwanted attentions, all she could think about was that they were not the arms that she wanted to be holding her. They were too large, too muscular. Not Hiccup.

"When was the last time you ate?" Snotlout eventually muttered after what felt like hours of sitting out in the cold night with no news of what exactly was happening inside. It was the first words either of them had spoken since they were pushed outside.

"I don't remember, yesterday maybe?" Astrid replied tiredly as she stifled back a yawn. "Same as you I suppose."

Gods, had it only been a day? It felt like the longest day of her life.

"You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry, Snotlout," she retorted stubbornly.

"You're going to make yourself sick."

"I can't leave him!"

Snotlout fell silent and his eyes dropped to the ground, stunned by her fierce tone. She instantly felt guilty because she truly did appreciate his concern. It was warranted. Her stomach was growling like a territorial dragon after all. But as she had told everyone, including him, countless times already, she would not, could not abandon Hiccup until she knew for certain that he was going to pull through.

"I have to go organize the rescue party." By the tone of his voice, it was obvious that Snotlout was not thrilled about his duty. He was just as anxious for news as she was. "I just can't put it off any longer."

"You're right. I'm sure Stoick and the others are wondering when they'll be able to get off that wretched island," she replied in an attempt to make him feel better about leaving. "Odin only knows that they'd never take up the offer to ride on dragonback to Berk. No one would be insane enough to ride with the twins. I'm afraid ships are the only way to go."

"I'll bring you something to eat if you're still here when I get back."

Astrid smiled wryly up at him, "Where else would I be?"

She watched with bleary eyes as Snotlout climbed down the steps of Gothi's hut and made his way down to the village. With his presence no longer beside her, the chill of the late evening air seemed to seep into her bones. To distract herself from her weariness and exhaustion, she focused all her energy on listening. Unfortunately, she heard a whole lot of nothing. The healer's hut had gone quiet a while ago, but no one had come out yet to share any news on Hiccup's condition. She could only pray that no news was good news. Eventually, the silence became too much for her and despite the chill, her eyelids started to droop…

—

When she opened her eyes next, she found herself staring up at a thatched roof instead of the twinkling stars and an open sky. She slowly sat up in bed—the first real bed she had slept in in ages—and took in her surroundings. She blinked several times as she attempted to process just where she was. She knew this place; knew it well. Astrid rubbed her hands over her eyes, determined that it was just a figment of her imagination. Yet no matter how hard she tried, the vision did not go away. Somehow, she was in Hofferson hall.

"Yer finally awake."

Astrid startled at the sudden voice and whipped her head around to see Herleva Hofferson seated in a chair in the corner of her room. In her hands, the matron held a garment that she appeared to have been mending to pass the time. With eyes still blurred from sleep, the younger blonde tried to get a better look at the woman who had been the cause of many a nightmare during her banishment. Herleva looked as though she had aged about ten years since she had last seen her. The golden luster was all but gone from her hair, replaced by slate gray. There were wrinkles in places that there had not been before. She looked thinner and very tired. Her clothes appeared worn and had small rips and tears that also needed mending. Clearly, the past two years had not been easy on the last Hofferson.

"Astrid—"

"Why am I here?" Astrid demanded, cutting the other woman off before she could utter more than her name.

"Snotlout brought ye here after ye fell asleep at Gothi's. He wasn't sure where else to take ye," Herleva explained hesitantly, seemingly taken aback by the harsh tone.

" _Anywhere else but here_ ," Astrid ground out under her breath.

She was going to kill Snotlout when she got her hands on him. How dare he break his promise! They had an understanding. He knew that she had been waiting for news about Hiccup. Why did he not wake her up? Why did he take her back to the last place on Midgard that she ever wanted to go? It was completely unacceptable. He knew her story. He should have known better.

"The Jorgenson boy told me everything. He told me what ye and yer friends did on that island to save us all. I am so sorry, Astrid," her mother babbled out an apology. "So, so, very sorry. I was wrong. We all were."

The mention of the island only brought Hiccup's injury back to the forefront of her mind. She still knew nothing of how he was doing. Then, suddenly, a terrible thought occurred to her. If Snotlout had neglected to wake her after she had fallen asleep and brought her back to her old home, perhaps it was because he _had_ received word from the healers and it was not _good_ news.

"I could really lose him," Astrid whimpered, completely ignoring the apology.

Herleva seemed to already know who Astrid was speaking off. She pushed off of her chair and dropped to her knees on the side of the bed. "I'm here, my daughter," she murmured soothingly as she reached out instinctively to stroke Astrid's hair. "It's going to be okay."

But before she had the chance to lay a finger on her, Astrid wrenched herself away. "Don't say that to me! I'm not your daughter anymore, remember?" she cried bitterly.

"Please Astrid, I have lived with the guilt of what I said to ye in anger for two very long years. How was I to know that ye would leave Berk that very night? When I found out ye were gone, I was so afraid that I would never see ye again. How was I to know that those might have been the last words that I ever said to my only child?"

Astrid stared at her mother in incredulity, unsure whether she should believe the excuses or not. From the way Herleva was talking, it almost sounded as if she did not know that Astrid had been forced to leave the island; which was preposterous. Why would she have left on her own free will? If she could have found a way to stay and fix things back then, she would have. But she had not been given the choice.

"I'm not a Hofferson anymore. You disowned me," she retorted petulantly. It might have been petty of her, but her hurt had festered for two long years and part of her wanted her mother to feel that hurt as well.

"Ye must know that I never meant it."

Astrid turned her head away and stared numbly at the furs covering her lap. "But I didn't know that. I've had those hateful words resounding in my head for the past two years, making me feel worthless and weak for making the right choice. You see that now, don't you? I was right all along. Dragons aren't the enemy."

"I-I'm sorry," Herleva repeated helplessly, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.

"So you've said. I just need some time. Please give me that," Astrid replied, getting up out of bed and slipping on her boots. The room was starting to feel stifling. She needed to get some fresh air and the perfect way to do that was a trip to Gothi's. Besides, after she checked up on Hiccup, she had half a mind to track Snotlout down and give him a piece of her mind.

"Where are ye going?"

"To Gothi's. I have to see how Hiccup is for myself."

"Ye won't find him there," the older woman told her. "He's been moved to Haddock hall. Stoick and the other warriors returned just a few—"

The words were barely out of her lips before Astrid was rushing from the room and hurdling out of her old home. She did not stick around to find out the rest of what her mother was going to say and she certainly did not stick around to see the heartbroken look on the older woman's face. All that mattered at that moment was Hiccup. She needed to see how he was for herself and no one, absolutely no one, was going to get in her way.

—

He was okay.

Hiccup Haddock was alive and was going to be okay. Astrid had nearly reached out and kissed Snotlout square on the lips when she found him and he told her the good news but— _eww_. Besides, she did not fancy going against Eira for kissing her husband. Although Eira was nice and the two young women found themselves getting along quite well, she was not about to get on the redhead's bad side.

It had been over a week since the battle at Dragon Island, as the Berkian's had officially dubbed the previously unnamed island, and although Hiccup had survived the amputation of his lower shin and entire left foot, he was still fighting off a minor infection in his stump and had been sleeping ever since. Ordinarily, Astrid would have been worried by this, but Gothi swore up and down—in runes of course—that Hiccup would wake up in his own time. They could not rush his recovery. His body needed time and plenty of sleep to heal. There was not much else they could do for him in the meantime other than administer herbs to fight off the infection and dull the pain.

Astrid spent most of her days at Haddock hall with the other dragon riders watching over Hiccup. When she was not with Hiccup, she was helping out around the village or loitering at the forge. With his favorite laid out unconscious in a bed for the unforeseeable future, Gobber was thankful for the company and help. Someone had to hand him his various prosthetic attachments after all. She only returned back to Hofferson hall to sleep at night because as much as she loathed to admit it, she had no other place to go. Thankfully, Heather was staying with her as well and acted as a buffer when things got too tense, which was still rather often. Even after their talk, Astrid was still finding it hard to fully accept her mother's apology. Although she truly did appreciate her mother's attempts of mending their broken relationship, it was going to take time for things to get back to normal between the two Hofferson women. Too much salt had been poured on her wounds for them to just disappear overnight. Ruffnut and Fishlegs had tried to help by offering to let her and Heather stay with them, but there was very little room in their single room hut and neither Astrid nor Heather wanted to intrude on them and their privacy.

Although not much was visibly progressing in terms of her reconciliation with her mother or with Hiccup's condition, things on Berk had changed radically since the battle at Dragon Island. The dragons that had escaped the nest prior to the battle had made their way to Berk after the Queen's death. At first, the sudden appearance of dragons on the island had puzzled the Berkians. But Fishlegs theorized that they had likely been under the queen's influence for so long that they did not know what to do with their freedom. Thus, they returned to the only other place they knew, which was Berk. Lucky for those lost dragons, they were not chased off the island by an angry mob as they might have been a week previous. Things had changed since the battle. With the help of the dragon riders, the villagers were starting to see the dragons' true nature. When left unthreatened, they could truly be enjoyable company and loyal companions. Some of the younger generation of Vikings were even expressing interest in having their own dragon companions!

Stormfly and Windshear could sleep peacefully outside of Hofferson hall at night without fear of being attacked. Herleva had easily consented to that—now, whether that was to get on Astrid's good side or because she truly had changed her opinion on Berk's long time enemy was a mystery. The other riders' dragons had received similar privileges. Toothless was even welcome _inside_ the Chief's hall! Not that the sassy ebony dragon would have taken no for an answer anyhow… What with all the very exciting and progressive changes, Astrid could not wait to see the look on Hiccup's face when he finally woke up. All that he had wished to accomplish two years ago with his stint in the arena had finally come true!

Ultimately, her return to Berk had brought with it the truth of what had really been happening two years ago during dragon training. Soon, everyone knew the story of how she and Hiccup had secretly been befriending and training the dragons, rather than training to fight them. Additionally, the stories of her actions in the battle against the dragon queen had spread like dragon-fire through the village. She had become Berk's newest celebrity, almost as publicly acclaimed as Hiccup himself. Astrid thought that they had no business comparing what she had done during the battle to Hiccup's sacrifice, but she was outnumbered in that opinion. Many in the village thought that Astrid's actions were more than enough to restore the Hofferson clan's honor that had been stolen by the Flightmare all those years ago, but that only served to further complicate things. As if she was finding it hard to forgive her mother enough already, she could not ignore the possibility that the apology could have stemmed from a want of personal gain, rather than true repentance.

There were a lot of things that the village did not know.

Astrid had been caught up on a few things that Hiccup had not shared with her when he tried filling her in on what that had happened while she was away. She was a bit surprised to find out that the chief had kept his promise in not calling for a public trial for her banishment. Only a select few knew the truth of what the chief had said to her in the Great Hall two years previous. The confirmed list was currently comprised of herself, Hiccup, the dragon riders, the chief, and Gobber. Whether her mother really knew or not was something that she was still unsure about. Otherwise, as the chief had promised, the majority of the village was led to believe that she had run away after the events of the championship. The common consensus was that she had been so ashamed about releasing Toothless and nearly causing the death of the chief's son, she left Berk on her own free will. This was very good news. The fact that her banishment had not been public knowledge meant that Astrid could once again have a future on Berk if she chose. The chief had confirmed this when he privately apologized to her one day while she was visiting Hiccup. Apparently, the battle at Dragon Island had opened up his eyes to how wrong he had been. He made it clear that she was more than welcome to stay on Berk if she wished, although he never did mention whether his nullification of her betrothal to his son still stood. She was afraid to ask because that would surely lead to all sorts of technicalities and quite a few complications that she was not ready to face just yet. She did not even know if her dowry still existed.

Stoick had extended the welcome on Berk to Heather as well, but Astrid was unsure if her friend would accept the invitation or not. Although she and Heather felt as though they were in their own little world these days, the rest of the Barbaric Archipelago and what lay beyond it kept moving with or without them. Dagur and his armada were still out there and Astrid knew that her friend's thirst for revenge was still simmering beneath the surface. But regardless of Heather's choice, Astrid had already made up her mind. After two years, she was tired of running and with Hiccup slowly on the mend, she knew in her heart that she was going to stay on Berk. What that was going to do to her and Heather's friendship, she did not know. Both women tended to avoid the subject, content to just keep on pretending that they were indeed in their own little world.

—

It was late in the afternoon nearly two weeks after the battle when Hiccup finally woke up. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Over the past couple days, he had displayed unconscious moment; the wiggling of his fingers, briefly opening and closing his eyes, etc. So at first, no one thought anything of the fact that Hiccup's hand suddenly clenched into a fist.

Astrid and the other dragon riders, including Heather but excluding Eira who was busy with her healer's duties, were all squeezed into the main room of Haddock Hall that sunny, but chilly afternoon. It really was a tight fit. The room honestly appeared quite large until you tried shoving in seven grown Vikings and a Night Fury that absolutely refused to leave, along with Hiccup's bed and all the other furniture already in the room. After Hiccup had been released from Gothi's, Stoick had enlisted the help of Snotlout and Fishlegs to bring Hiccup's bed down into the main room to make it easier for the healers to check on his son and for the riders to visit. Stoick had also expressed concern about Hiccup's ability to move around for a while after he woke up. There was a high probability that he would be sleeping downstairs for a while as it would take him time to adjust to his new prosthetic, which had been fashioned to accompany Toothless' brand new prosthetic tail. The prosthetic was a spring-loaded work of genius that the combined minds of Fishlegs and Gobber had cooked up with the help of Hiccup's notes on his previous work.

Stoick was out at the moment, so Astrid and the riders were dedicating their time to updating Berk's copy of the Book of Dragons to match the notes that Fishlegs and Hiccup had been diligently taking over the past couple years. It certainly was entertaining as some members of the group were obviously participating more than others. Even in adulthood, some things just never changed. The twins had long since gotten into an argument and were wrestling on the floor. Snotlout was 'taking a break' to referee the match. Someone apparently had to make sure that none of the Haddock's furniture was broken in the conflict _and_ make sure that the twins stayed clear of Hiccup's bed. That left Fishlegs, Heather, and Astrid working on the Book of Dragons; which was probably just as well. Being the only dragon in the room, Toothless was curled up in front of the blazing hearth, taking a nap.

At first it seemed just like any other time they had visited Hiccup. No change. But then, at one point, Astrid was startled from watching Fishlegs scribble down a Typhoomerang's description based off of her and Heather's firsthand account when Toothless began displaying very odd behavior. She, along with all the others in the room, stopped what they were doing when Toothless suddenly bounded over to Hiccup's bed and began earnestly licking the unconscious man's face. Although Astrid knew that the Night Fury meant well, she was on her feet faster than she could think.

"Wait, Astrid!" Fishlegs exclaimed excitedly, reaching up to stop her from interfering. "I think he's finally waking up! I bet Toothless can sense it!"

His words struck a chord and so she waited, rooted to the spot, as Toothless continued to poke and prod at his rider, making cooing and whining noises every so often. She told herself not to get her hopes up but it was hard not to get a little excited. Toothless had never acted like this before. Then, to her astonishment and complete joy, Hiccup's vivid green eyes slowly opened and _stayed_ open. Toothless cooed once more and then sat back on his haunches, staring expectedly at his rider.

"Hey Toothless," the bedridden man murmured drowsily.

Astrid's heart nearly stopped at hearing his voice after nearly two weeks of nothing but silence. As ridiculous as it sounded, in that moment, it was the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard. It took every single ounce of self-control in her to not bound over to him and kiss him with everything that she had. But she could not do that. Not yet anyway. They needed to let Hiccup wake up and adjust on his own. It was better this way, she told herself. There was no need to overwhelm him too quickly. It was what they had all agreed upon if he woke up while the entire group was present. Thus, all the dragon riders stayed frozen in their spots.

But Toothless was impatient. The Night Fury soon resumed licking at Hiccup's face, clearly unsatisfied with his rider's slow waking. Hiccup laughed and become more coherent with every lick, alternating between telling Toothless he was glad to see him and complaining that the Night Fury saliva was never going to come out. Astrid could not help smiling at the second comment. She knew how hard Night Fury saliva was to wash out from experience. Eventually, Hiccup sat up in his bed, but his attention was still focused on his dragon. It seemed to take him a while to realize that something was off about the location they were in. Once he did notice, however, his eyes grew wide with panic.

"This…is my bed… I'm in my house," he murmured mostly to himself, staring confusedly into the hearth at his bedside. Hiccup's gaze turned to Toothless and if possible, his green eyes bulged even wider. "Toothless! You're in my house!"

"We're in your house too, man," Tuffnut suddenly drawled from the other side of the room, effectively ruining the moment and exposing their presence. "But I see how it is! A Night Fury is more exciting!"

"Shut up, idiot!" Ruffnut hissed as she instinctively reached out and punched her brother in the chest. The male twin made an anguished wheezing sound before grinning at his sister crazily with a gleam in his eye that said, ' _Do it again_!'

Heather rolled her eyes. "There just went the plan."

"Yeah! The secret's out now!" Snotlout cried, throwing his hands up dramatically.

"Uh, guys—" Fishlegs began cautiously.

Hiccup glanced around at his gathered group of friends and his dragon with a completely bewildered look on his face. "Uh, does my dad know you're _all_ in here?" he asked worriedly, if not a bit fearfully.

"Oh, Hiccup," Astrid breathed his name out with a quiet laugh.

The joy that she felt at seeing him sitting up in bed and talking to them was incomparable to anything she had ever felt before. She was thankful, so ridiculously thankful, that he was okay. Unable to hold herself back any longer, she crossed the room and carefully engulfed him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. Don't you ever scare me like that again! You hear me mister?!" she mock threatened.

Another chuckle left Hiccup's lips and he nodded enthusiastically, "Loud and clear, milady. I have no plans on doing whatever it was that scared you again anytime soon. I value my life and limbs. Now, come here," he playfully instructed, cradling Astrid's face with his hands and pulled her down to meet his waiting lips. In his haste to kiss her, he did not see the frown that his words put on her face.

The kiss was short and sweet—there were others in the room after all and they had much to talk about—but Astrid savored his taste and the feeling of his lips upon hers. She broke the kiss much sooner than she would have liked and rested her hands against his chest, feeling his beating heart beneath her fingers.

"Hiccup?" she began slowly. "How much do you remember? Do you know why you're here?"

The auburn haired man frowned for a moment and stroked his chin, making him resemble his father but with much less hair. He thought for a few moments before saying, "I remember that we went to fight the dragon queen and I remember saving you from the ocean—which, by the way! Your threat should go both ways. Don't ever scare _me_ like that again either!"

Instead of smiling at his cheek, Astrid exchanged a nervous glance with Fishlegs and Snotlout, who had stepped forward to stand on either side of her next to Hiccup's bed. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Heather stayed slightly back but still close enough to keep Hiccup in view.

"Do you remember what happened after you saved Astrid from the water?" Fishlegs tried again.

Hiccup shook his head. "Not really. After that, everything gets fuzzy."

At seeing the mirroring concerned looks on all his friends' faces, Hiccup began struggling to get up from bed. "What happened? Is it my father? Is that why he's not here? Is he okay?" he babbled while continuing to struggle. He was tangled up in the furs covering his bed. Astrid noticed him grimace as he moved the lower half of his body, but he did not seem to know just what was catching on the furs just yet. Slowly, she reached out and pressed her hands against his chest once more, this time to stay him.

"Your father is fine, Hiccup," she assured him quietly. Astrid then turned to Snotlout. "Go and get the chief. He'll want to know that Hiccup's awake."

"But—"

"I know," she replied, cutting him off quickly. He wanted to stay. He wanted to support his cousin when he found out what he had lost. "But Stoick is in a council meeting, remember? It wouldn't be appropriate for anyone other than you to go." Realizing she was right, Snotlout nodded and left Haddock hall quickly after that.

"What aren't you guys telling me?" Hiccup asked after the door shut behind Snotlout.

"Well, you came up with a plan to use the queen's firepower against her. It worked, but then there was a giant explosion. You and Toothless were closest to it, so you got caught in the middle of it. Toothless' prosthetic burnt up in the fire and you both fell," Fishlegs explained grimly. "None of us were able to reach you in time. You were falling too fast and with the smog in the air, we couldn't see."

"We thought you were dead," Astrid added, her eyes tearing up again against her will.

Hiccup laughed despite the tense atmosphere, "I wasn't, but I suppose I gave it my best shot." Astrid fixed him with a glare. It was far too soon for him to be joking over the possibility of his death. "Ah, sorry—just trying to lighten the mood and apparently failing…" he trailed off awkwardly and then tried, once more to untangled himself from his bed.

Fishlegs shuffled his feet nervously and wrung his hands in front of him. "Erm, Hiccup, there's something else you should know…"

The warning had barely left the other man's lips when Hiccup suddenly froze, sensing that something was very wrong. With shaking hands, he peeled the furs back. His eyes widened and if possible, his face grew paler. Astrid choked back a sob at seeing a flurry of emotions cross his face, the most devastating being complete horror at his condition.

"I—what?" he asked feebly.

"They…they couldn't save it," she provided shakily.

Hiccup shook his head in disbelief and swung his legs around to touch the floor. A bare foot touched down on the right side. But on the left… Toothless shoved his way forward and began sniffing curiously at the new contraption that now served as Hiccup's left foot. The dragon snorted, almost in an understanding and sympathetic manner. It was plausible that he did understand just what Hiccup was going through. After all, Toothless himself had lost a part of himself as well.

"Yeah, I guess we're even now, bud," Hiccup responded with fake enthusiasm, understanding what his dragon was silently trying to tell him as well. "So, did Gobber make this?" he asked, gesturing to the prosthetic.

Fishlegs nodded, but when he did not make any move to mention his contribution, his wife ratted him out. "Fishlegs helped too!" she said proudly.

The first genuine smile crossed Hiccup's lips at that. "Thanks, Fishlegs."

The bulkier blond shrugged modestly as a light blush crossed his cheeks from the praise. "Do you think it'll do for now?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course! It's great," Hiccup replied with a smirk. "Although I might have a few ideas for extra tweaks. For example, it could have more settings!"

The chief's son then began prattling on about possible modifications that he and Fishlegs could make, much to the other boy's relief and excitement. Again, some things never changed. Leave it to Fishlegs and Hiccup to geek out over a prosthetic. Yet his hands were visibly shaking as he absently patted Toothless' head. Astrid knew that the geeking out they were doing was just Hiccup's way of deflecting what he was really feeling, but she was not about to call him out on it. For now, she would let him deflect but later… She slowly stepped away from the bed, intending on leaving Fishlegs and Hiccup to continue their conversation, but someone else had other plans.

"Wait just a minute! You guys haven't even told him the best part yet!" Tuffnut exclaimed incredulously.

Hiccup's eyebrows rose in surprise, "There's a 'best' part to all of this?"

"Well, duh!" the male twin responded. "But you have to go outside to see for yourself."

"Why?"

"Because you won't believe us otherwise."

Astrid frowned, "Tuffnut, I'm not sure that's a good—"

"It's okay, Astrid," Hiccup interrupted bravely. A flicker of doubt crossed his jade eyes before he reached out for her, silently asking for assistance to stand. Against her better judgment but knowing that Hiccup was too stubborn to listen to her, the blonde allowed him to use her to steady himself as he rose to his feet. The moment that he put pressure on his stump, he winced and clenched his jaw in discomfort. However, when she opened her mouth to protest again, he waved off her concern. "I'm fine. It's fine. I'm going to have to get used to it sometime."

"Just go really slow," Heather advised sagely.

He took one cautious step and stumbled, but Fishlegs came on his opposite side and supported him. With gritted teeth and a look of pure determination on his face, Hiccup bravely took a second step, and then a third, and a forth… Soon, he was approaching the door, which Ruffnut beat him to and slowly pried open. What was revealed on the opposite side caused Hiccup to yelp in surprise and made all the riders burst into laughter. Apparently, in his haste to get the chief back to Haddock hall, Snotlout had somehow convinced the chief to ride with him on Hookfang. The trio was just touching down as Ruffnut opened the door.

"I knew it. I'm actually dead!" Hiccup exclaimed loudly in disbelief.

"No, ye aren't, but ye gave it your best shot!" Stoick called back cheerfully as he dropped down from Hookfang's saddle. Astrid flinched again at the joke. Why did everyone feel the need to joke about Hiccup's almost death? Stoick however, was completely oblivious to her turmoil as he gestured excitedly towards the village, "What do you think of all the changes, son?"

At the motion, Hiccup finally looked away from his father and saw for himself just what Tuffnut had been so insistent that he see. As Astrid had anticipated, it did not take long for a wide, amazed smile to form on his lips. In the two weeks that he had been unconscious, dragons had integrated themselves onto Berk. Under the framework of a barn, an orange and purple Deadly Nadder shot its magnesium fire onto a metal brace before stepping back to allow a villager to hammer it into shape. Close by the Nadder and Viking team, an adolescent Monstrous Nightmare carrying part of a tree trunk in its maw flew down to a Viking child to show the young boy what he had found. The kid cheered and clapped his little hands excitedly for the Nightmare. Every which way Hiccup glanced, there were several more instances of dragons and Vikings working and living together in tandem. With each scene, his smile grew wider and wider. With a grin of her own, Astrid reached down and grasped his hand with her own, quickly entangling their fingers together. She was so excited for him that she did not care if anyone saw the gesture.

"This is…amazing," he finally breathed out in awe.

Tuffnut snorted, "I told you it was cool and that you totally wouldn't believe us without seeing it for yourself."

"You're right," Hiccup agreed with a shake of his head. "I wouldn't have."

Snotlout finally left Hookfang's side and approached his cousin. As he did so, Astrid saw him quickly glance down at her and Hiccup's joined hands before he gave her a respectful nod. She smiled back at him in return. His confession from two weeks ago was still fresh in her mind. _Hiccup is very lucky to have someone like you_. Her view of Snotlout had changed as well over those couple weeks. Although he still had his moments, he had really grown up. What Snotlout did not know was that Hiccup was very lucky to have someone like him for a cousin as well.

"It's good to have you back, Hic!"

"I suppose it's good to be back, Snotlout."

With a relieved smile, Snotlout reached out and clapped his cousin on the shoulder hard enough to make Hiccup wobble on the spot. Astrid knew that if she and Fishlegs had not still been supporting him, Hiccup would have tumbled over and that could have been very, very bad. As it was, Hiccup grunted in pain. The smile dropped from her lips as she, along with almost everyone else gathered, fixed Snotlout with identical disapproving glares.

"Ah, sorry. That's going to take some time to get used to," the brunet apologized sheepishly.

Hiccup simply threw back his head and laughed.

—

 **So, this is the last chapter before the epilogue! We're so close to the end folks. I know that this chapter probably wasn't as "hiccstrid" as some would have liked, but I promise you'll get your fill of cutesy, cheesy hiccstrid in the epilogue. I am also well aware that there are several things that are still unresolved with this final chapter. That will be addressed in the epilogue as well.**

 **When I was writing Hiccup's waking scene, I was tempted to make it just between him and Astrid. But, the more than I thought about it, that just didn't sit right with me. As much as this story is a romance, it's also centric on family and friendship as well. There was just something that seemed more appropriate to have all the dragon riders, not just Astrid, standing together in solidarity for their leader and in the end, that's what I rolled with. :)**

 **Now as for Snotlout, this was a big chapter for him and I really enjoyed getting to flesh out his character a little more. We've really seen his increasing maturity over the last several chapters and it all comes to a head here. Also, remember when I said a looooong time ago that you'd eventually find out the reason behind Snotlout and Astrid's conflict in this AU? Well, now you know. This was a long time coming!**

 **Until the very last one,**

— **Mari.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Drengskapr**

 **Summary** : _Astrid is last in line to a family whose honor was stolen by a dragon. She is a Hofferson, an embarrassment to Berk. She fights to regain her clan's honor and maybe, just maybe, gain the approval of a certain russet-haired boy from her childhood. But the Gods hate her. Her life is turned upside down when she stumbles upon a curious Nadder in the woods. AU. Hiccstrid._

—

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own How to Train Your Dragon, it's characters, places, folklore, nothing, nada, zip. Also, the world of Norse mythology and Viking culture is so incredibly vast and complex. I do not claim to be a historian, although I do enjoy research and history. I apologize for any historical inaccuracies or incorrectly referenced folklore/language/customs etc. that you may come across. I do try to do my research before including them and explain them how _I personally_ understand them in my footnotes at the bottom of each chapter. That being said, I am human and I can be wrong. If you spot inaccuracies/mistakes kindly ( **keyword: kindly** ) PM me about it and I will be happy to fix them.

—

 **Chapter Twenty-Four**

Astrid had never felt so girly, or so relaxed, in her entire life.

Nimble fingers carded themselves through her hair, effectively massaging her scalp and made her slump forward in the chair she currently sat in. Those fingers—long, callused and purposed—poked and prodded at her intricate braid as they carefully pressed tiny blue wildflowers between the silky stands. If someone were to have told her a year ago that she would let someone, anyone, put flowers in her hair, she would have told them that they were crazy. She was not that kind of Viking. Not anymore at least. Yet here she sat in the middle of Hofferson hall allowing Hiccup Haddock to do that very thing to her. She was even wearing a dress for Odin's sake! Oh, how things had changed.

"Careful," she murmured playfully. "You might just put me to sleep if you keep this up."

The auburn haired man chuckled but did not pause in his ministrations. It seemed that he was enjoying himself just as much as she was. He worked silently for a few more minutes and just when Astrid was sure that she was going to slump over onto the kitchen table, his hands dropped to her shoulders and he leaned in to softly press his lips to her cheek. She shivered as the light stubble on his face tickled her jaw.

"All done," Hiccup announced, his lips still ghosting her cheek. "Ready to go?"

Astrid turned and met his bright emerald gaze with an involuntary soft smile. "Of course," she answered.

But as she stood, she began to smooth out the richly colored folds of her long skirt. Gods, it had been years since she had worn something of the sort—before her banishment at the very least. She could already imagine the smirk on Heather's face when she saw her later. Although she knew it would happen eventually, Astrid had been saved from that embarrassment earlier that morning. Heather had not so subtly convinced Herleva Hofferson to leave the house early with her to help out with any last minute decorations before Astrid had had the chance to change into her clothes for the feast. She had not asked Heather to do that, but she appreciated it all the same. It just went to say how much Heather knew her. Her mother might have been oblivious to the real reason she was being ushered out of her own home, but Heather was not. The brunette had winked conspiringly and wiggled her eyebrows at Astrid as the pair had walked out the door.

The blonde was relieved for her mother's absence. Although things were much less strained between the two Hofferson women now after six months' time had passed and Herleva continued to do everything she possibly could to show support for her daughter, the empty house gave Hiccup the chance to sneak in to see her before they were forced to play the role of being 'just friends' again in front of the rest of the village. They had not taken a single moment of that time together for granted. Subconsciously, she raised her hand up to her still bruised lips as she remembered the way he had kissed her as she sat on top of kitchen table not even an hour ago. Gods, the way his strong hands had wandered teasingly along her parted thighs…

"So, are we going or not?" she asked while mentally cursing just how quickly her cheeks reddened at the memory of what they had been doing earlier that morning.

"Oh no, we're going," Hiccup replied with a snort. "If I don't show, my father will tear the village apart looking for me. _The future chief of Berk must be present for these sorts of events, ye know_ ," he quoted, mimicking his father's strong lilt. "But there's just one more thing that we have to do first."

Her brows scrunched together in confusion. "What's tha—"

But the question effectively died in her throat when Hiccup pulled an object out from the small satchel that he had dropped next to the kitchen table upon his arrival. At the time she had thought nothing about what could have been inside as he had seemed very much determined to get _her_ up onto the kitchen table and who was she to complain about that? But now, well, she suddenly found it much harder to catch her breath. Were the blue wildflowers not enough? Was he purposely trying to torture her? Understandably, she stared wide-eyed down at the one-legged, russet-haired man who was awkwardly kneeling on the floorboards before her with a proffered flower crown in hand. How long had she been waiting for this moment? She was almost ashamed to think of how many times her much younger self had dreamed of Hiccup presenting her with a flower crown to wear at the _sumar_ feast. **[1]**

The last six months had been really good for Berk. The harvest had gone exceptionally well that year thanks to the help of the dragons and _vintr_ had passed by in the blink of an eye. It was now _Harpa_ , the first month of the _sumar_ , and thus the _sumar_ feast was once again upon them. This particular feast was shaping up to be one of the most plentiful yet.

Each year, the village held a grand sacrificial feast that began mid-morning and lasted well into the evening filled with dancing, eating, drinking, and singing in the village square. It was a celebration first and foremost for victory in battle and good luck on journeys. Yet this was also the one time of the year that the women of the village displayed their more feminine qualities. It was a tradition in their village for the husbands to present their wives with grand handwoven crowns of flowers to wear for the duration of the feast. Sometimes the tradition was also followed by younger Vikings in that a young male would present a young female with either a bouquet or small crown of flowers.

Astrid had many fond memories of the _sumar_ feast in her younger years. Her earliest memories of the festivalwere filled with a shy young boy clumsily weaving blue wildflowers into her long blonde locks. However, as she had grown older, the feast became a bitter disappointment. In her early adolescent years, her hair had been completely void of flowers, and for the last two years, she had not been on Berk to have gone to the feast at all. But this year was different. It seemed as though Hiccup was determined to make up for all the _sumar_ celebrations she had missed out on.

"Hiccup," she breathed out quietly, still staring at him in awe.

His green eyes glinted excitedly, "Do you like it?"

Unable to come up with the words, Astrid simply nodded. It was obvious that he had made it himself, putting the same detail and care into the flower crown as he put into his blacksmithing. He had woven dried grasses, daisies, meadowsweet, lavender, orchids, and of course, little blue wildflowers together into a brilliant masterpiece. It was altogether breathtaking, not to mention far more intricate than a standard crown given to someone who was not married. It was quite the bold move on his part, offering such a thing to her. Yet it was perfect and she told him such, not with words but with her eyes. Satisfied with her nonverbal response, Hiccup rose to his feet with only minor difficulty—it was getting easier every day for him to get around with his prosthetic—and motioned for her to dip her head so that he could place the crown upon it. Once the crown was secure, Hiccup opened the front door to Hofferson hall and ushered her outside.

"People are going to talk," Astrid warned him as they walked towards the square.

He shrugged, "Let them talk. I have a feeling they'll be more concerned with being jealous over the fact that I have the most beautiful shield maiden on all of Berk as my date." Again, a damned rosy blush spread across her cheeks at the compliment. Even after six months of listening to his constant praise and affection, it still had the same profound effect on her. He could be incredibly silver-tongued when he felt like it.

Although it was not yet the noon hour, the pair found that the feast was already well underway when they finally made it to the village square. The area had been transformed into something almost enchanted with loads of tables, chairs, candles, torches, streamers, and fabrics decorating the once bland, ordinary space. Food tables had been set up and already many a Viking stood in line to sample some of Berk's most revered delicacies. Astrid's stomach grumbled at the thought of some of her favorites that she had not had in over two years.

Although they were not doing anything suggestive—they were not even holding hands for Freya's sake—she could feel the villagers' eyes burning through her as she and Hiccup got in line for the food tables. Her hand unconsciously reached for the end of her long braid, which she began to twist nervously in her hand. She did not like the idea of everyone staring at her. Years of being looked down upon by the village were suddenly, and forcefully, brought back to the forefront of her mind. Not strong. Too small. Always screwing up. Too clumsy. Dishonored. _Hopeless Hofferson_. She could almost hear the whispers, the rumors spreading throughout the festival. Who had given her a crown? What right did she have to be with the chief's son? She began second guessing her choice of wearing Hiccup's flower crown.

She was startled from those spiraling downward thoughts however as Hiccup softly nudged her. "I told you everyone would be jealous," he teased.

At his words, she took another look around the festival with clear eyes. There were no looks of disgust, no looks of disapproval, no anger. Instead, she was met with several smiles, just a few raised eyebrows, and an occasional wave if a Viking caught her looking at them. All friendly. She took a shuddering deep breath. So much had changed since the battle at Dragon Island. Six months later, it was still hard for her to see that the village no longer looked at her in scorn, but rather with something akin to true respect. She had been the first to train a dragon and Hiccup had slain the Queen that had terrorized their village for centuries. They were regarded as heroes instead of traitors. The evidence of that was everywhere she looked. This was the first year that dragons had been a welcomed part of the _sumar_ festival and they were present in droves. A part of her worried how that would play out much later in the evening when the mead flowed with abandon and the villagers slowly became too inebriated to even remember their own names as was a tradition at these kinds of feasts…but that was beside the point.

When she turned to look back at her companion for the feast, she saw that he was gazing at her knowingly. Hiccup had known exactly what she had been thinking. He knew that she was once again letting her past get to her. She had come a long way in terms of character and had overcome so many obstacles over the past two and a half years but sometimes, a stubborn warrior fell back into old habits of thinking. She laughed slightly under her breath. How Hiccup was able to see through her, her fears and worries, so easily when she kept everything guarded so tightly to her chest was beyond her.

"Hey, guys!"

She and Hiccup both started at the sudden voice and whirled around to find Tuffnut Thorsten staring at them expectantly with a tray of overfilled, frothy tankards balanced on his arm.

"While you're standing in line, you should definitely try my tasty new beverage I came up with just for the feast!" he offered excitedly.

"What is it?" Astrid asked.

"This, my dear friends, is called a Yak-Bomb!" **[2]**

The male twin grinned and shoved the tray closer to her and Hiccup's faces so that they could get a closer look. It honestly did not look too dangerous. She almost reached out to take a tankard, if only to humor her friend but thought better of it when she caught a whiff of the beverage and nearly choked as her nostrils started burning. The scent of mead and herbs were obvious and very strong. Way too strong. She snatched her hand back as if the tray had burnt her and exchanged a wary glance with Hiccup, who appeared equally turned off by the strong smell.

"Tuffnut, what exactly is in this special concoction of yours?" Hiccup asked hesitantly.

"That's the beauty of it!" A smirk then crossed Tuffnut's features before he leaned in and whispered, "You don't want to know. Want one?"

"Ah…you know what, I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself, Chief. I think your Dad's asking for seconds."

"You know I'm not the chief yet," Hiccup reminded half-heartedly as Tuffnut offered Astrid the tray again. She shook her head and he backed off.

"I'm just letting the term settle on my tongue," Tuffnut replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Everyone knows it's going to be any day now!" And then, just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone, moving on to find his next target. Astrid almost laughed, imagining how gullible a Viking had to be to accept anything from Tuffnut until she looked over and saw Hiccup's upset expression.

"Is that really what everyone thinks?" he asked her worriedly.

Astrid bit her lip, "I've heard rumors…" she told him honestly. "But you know how the Berk gossip mill can be, Hiccup. It might not mean anything."

Hiccup ran a shaky hand through the hair at the nape of his neck. "I just don't think I'm ready to be chief yet. I don't think I can follow in my father's footsteps that easily."

"You have proven yourself capable in every sense of the word. This is what you've been training for since you were fifteen!"

"I know, I know. Six months ago I would've thought the same thing, but now," he glanced down at his prosthetic with a frown.

And there is was. Just as he knew all of her insecurities and fears, she was equally acquainted with his. He might have put up a brave front for everyone else, but she knew better. The loss of his limb affected him much more than what he let on. The urge to reach out a touch his jaw line was unbearable, yet she resisted. There were too many prying eyes. Instead, she fixed him with a burning gaze that hopefully told him everything that she could not say out loud at the moment.

"Six months ago, everything changed, including how your people perceive you. Do you think that anyone thinks less of Gobber?" she asked pointedly. Hiccup slowly shook his head. "No, they don't. The loss of his limbs to Monstrous Nightmares was viewed as a sacrifice of bravely defending our village. So was yours, Hiccup. You took down that monster and the village is ever thankful for it. You saved Berk. Everyone knows that you'll make a fine chief one day."

"I suppose your right," Hiccup hummed quietly in response.

She dared to place her hand on his bicep, "You know I'm right."

—

The day seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. Before she knew it, burnt oranges, rich crimsons, and deep indigos filled the once bright blue sky. Night would soon be upon them. Yet, the _sumar_ feast was still in full swing. The village was heartily celebrating their good fortune and peace with the dragons. Legendary tales were proudly told, off-key music was played, mead and ale were being drunk by the barrel by both Vikings…and a few dragons, and unsurprisingly, quite a few fights had already broken out—between Vikings of course.

"Pour me— _hic_ —another!"

"But dear," came an equally slurred voice. "Are you s-sure that's a good idea?"

Almost reminiscent of the feast thrown in honor of the returning war party nearly two years' prior, Astrid found herself in the company of slightly intoxicated Fishlegs and a very drunken Ruffnut. Yet things were very different this time around. Astrid herself was much more relaxed. She was not worried about keeping Stormfly, Toothless, and the dragons a secret. She was smiling a Hel of a lot more and enjoying the mead just as much as the rest of them. She had lost count of how many she had drunk so far, but she was feeling really good. Downright giddy in fact. The blonde drunkenly gazed at her friends, taking note of how much things had changed. Fishlegs was no longer hiding his attraction to Ruffnut. He had no need to. They were married after all. In fact, Fishlegs had his arm snuggly wrapped around his drunken wife's waist. Whether that was purely out of affection or to keep Ruffnut from swaying off the bench was a mystery. Astrid suspected it was a little bit of both.

"Can someone pass me some more of those little green thingies! I could eat them— _hic_ —every day for the rest of my— _hic_ —life."

"Beans, Snotlout! They're called beans!" **[3]**

It was not just the three of them this time. Heather, Snotlout, and Eira had joined them at some point during the night. Astrid had forgotten when exactly. Their dragons were with them as well, content to curl up next to the roaring fires as their rider's drunk themselves into oblivion. Stormfly had momentarily nosed at the grand flower crown on Astrid's head and nipped playfully at her intricate braid before she too settled in with the other dragons. The only ones missing were Hiccup, who was having an animated discussion with his father up at the head table, and Tuffnut, who was currently serving Gobber and Spitelout more of his potent Yak-Bombs.

Astrid turned her glazed-over blue eyes towards the head table and watched Hiccup as he spoke with his father. She knew it was not her place, but she could not help but be curious. What could they possibly be discussing? Their conversation appeared heated if their body language was anything to go by. Hiccup was turned with his back mostly towards her, so she could only really see Stoick's face. She had always been terrible at lip-reading, even while sober, and the chief's massive beard did not make matters any easier. She wondered if perhaps Stoick was regaling the 'Big Talk' about passing on the chiefdom to Hiccup. She could not think of anything else that would get Hiccup so riled up and moving his shoulders in that awkward, yet adorable, way that he did when he was flustered. Astrid watched, transfixed, as her lover's hands began flailing along with his broad shoulders. Her elbow rested on the table and her chin settled into her open palm. Hiccup's hands. What glorious things he could do with those hands…

As if he could sense her eyes on him, Hiccup turned then and met her gaze for a split second, effectively shattering her daydream about his hands. _Sweet Freya_. She squirmed in her seat when he looked back at his father and tried her hardest to force intimate images from her mind, all the while cursing the blush that was once again threatening to bloom on her cheeks. Seriously, Hiccup Haddock was going to be the death of her. It was unnatural, not to mention incredibly embarrassing, for someone to blush as much as he made her.

"Astrid's got a case of the _Hiccups_!" Ruffnut suddenly sing-songed from across the table.

Astrid tore her gaze away from Hiccup and his father and glared at her best friend while everyone else at the table fought to stifle their laughter. It was no secret amongst them that she and Hiccup were together. The riders had covered for them many a time over the past six months when they needed to get away for a few hours. She and Hiccup had worked very hard to keep their relationship quiet and until the complications with their marriage contract were resolved, they had to keep it that way.

"That jab didn't work two years ago and it won't work now either!" the smaller blonde finally retorted, casually tossing her long braid over her shoulder.

"Careful, Ruff," Fishlegs said as he pointedly jabbed his wife's side with the arm still wrapped snugly around her waist. "There's a seventy-three percent chance that Astrid might jump over the table and pummel you if you keep nagging her."

Ruffnut huffed dramatically, "Oh, she doesn't have the— _hic_ —balls to do that in public!"

"Excuse me?" Astrid demanded, her eyes widening in mock insult.

"You heard me! No— _hic_ —balls!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Ruffnut," Heather replied, smirking cunningly into her own tankard. "Astrid's a bit of a badass now and she's had quite a few drinks. I don't think she cares much anymore."

"Oh, Thor! Is this really happening?" Snotlout asked excitedly as he slammed his fist down on the table and began cheering out, "Girl fight! Girl fight! Girl fight!"

With a roll of her eyes, Eira quickly slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

Astrid was practically doubled over with laughter and so caught up in the moment with her friends that she completely missed another's approach. Understandably, she startled when a soft weight suddenly settled over her shoulders. The blonde glanced down at her chest and saw that she now had a dark fur cloak draped over her. She hadn't even realized that she had been shivering but the warmth was nice. It took her about half a second to realize that the cloak was not just anyone's. Judging by the ornate clasps, it was Hiccup's ceremonial cloak. The blood abruptly drained from her face. She suddenly felt very sober.

"Hiccup," she cautioned and looked up to meet his jewel-toned eyes. "You really shouldn't—"

He cut her off, "It's fine, Astrid."

Despite her best efforts, he would not allow her to question him about the cloak or why he had put it on her. Instead, he settled on the bench next to her and engaged Snotlout in conversation. The two cousins quickly began to playfully bicker, throwing teasing insults back and forth as they usually did. The mead filling their tankards only intensified the banter. Everyone at the table went on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but her heart was furiously pounding in her chest. How could they not see how bad this looked? The flower crown was one thing, but how could he have done something so careless? So tactless? It implied something that was not and could not be—not yet anyway.

On their own accord, her gaze flew to the Dias where Stoick sat in his wooden, elaborately carved chair. Their eyes met and Astrid instinctively chomped down on her lip, more than a little afraid of his reaction, if she were to be honest with herself. But instead of getting angry, Stoick offered her the most inconspicuous of nods before he turned back to one of his advisors. She released her lip from her teeth as air rushed out of her mouth in short gasps. He clearly saw his son's cloak on her shoulders, but he had done nothing. He had given her a nod. What did that even mean?

Her hand shakily shot out, curled around her own half-full tankard of mead, and brought it up to her lips. The sweet liquid filled her mouth and coated her throat. When the tankard was drained dry, her head spun in a delicious haze and she was finally about to relax her tense posture.

"Astrid?"

At the sound of her name, she looked up and found her mother standing at the end of the table, looking at her expectantly. "Oh. Hi, mother," she greeted nervously, sounding remarkably like a child being caught sneaking a pastry before _náttmál_.

Herleva eyed the cloak resting on her daughter's shoulders for a split second before a small smile crept upon her lips. "I just came over to tell ye that I'm turning in for the night," she said breezily. "Enjoy the rest of yer evening." And with that, she turned and sashayed away from the riders' table without further comment.

Astrid's mouth fell open into a small 'o' shape and she watched, completely bewildered, as her mother disappeared into the crowd. Her mother had not said a word. Not a single word. Was everyone really that drunk? What the Hel was in the mead? She glanced down at her cup worriedly as her imagination began to quickly spin out of control. Had Tuffnut slipped some of his Yak-Bomb concoction into a couple of the barrels? She really would not put it past him to do something stupid and irresponsible like that. Then again, her drink had not tasted weird. Maybe his potent beverage did not have a taste at all. Maybe _that_ was the 'beauty of it' that he had suggested.

A warm hand rested on her thigh, effectively breaking her out of those drunken musings, and then Hiccup's quiet laughter reached her ears. He was not looking at her, rather at Snotlout as they continued their uninterrupted banter, but she knew that at least a portion of his attention was focused on her. His free hand cupped his tankard, which he slowly brought to his smirking lips. It was only then that she realized that she had been muttering some of her cogitations out loud. Luckily, due to his close proximity, Hiccup seemed to be the only one who had heard her. She relaxed, swaying only just slightly on the bench, as she covered his hand with her own beneath the table.

"Hey, Astrid! Why don't you— _hic_ —tell everyone about the time that you threatened Hiccup in the Great Hall with a— _hic_ —knife!" Ruffnut suddenly slurred out. "I— _hic_ —love that story!"

Astrid barked out a laugh and forgot all about Tuffnut and his Yak-Bombs, as well as the cloak resting on her shoulders and the implication of what her wearing it meant, as she delved into a story from the beginning of dragon training when she and Hiccup had still been fiercely at odds.

—

The mead and good conversations between the dragon riders continued to flow as the night grew later and later. Astrid watched, very much amused still in her own drunken haze, as the villagers around them became even more intoxicated and a few brawls broke out. They were forced from their table at one point when Not-So-Silent Sven began pummeling Mr. Ack under the accusation that Mr. Ack stole his black sheep. Something about the fight tickled at the depths of her subconscious. Quite a few brawls had broken out in the tavern on Port that she and Heather occasionally visited. Gods, she had hated that place. Even though the food and drink were decent, the regular barman was a complete jerk. She would never forget the time that Heather had threatened the sleazy man after he had the audacity to come on to her. He had called her 'mouthy bitch' for months after that.

Astrid glanced around her table of gathered friends, intent on reminiscing on that with Heather, but frowned when she realized that her friend had slipped away at some point. Windshear was missing as well. Astrid rose to her feet—thankfully without tripping over the bench—and without much explanation, rushed away from the table. She heard Hiccup and the others calling after her, asking where she was going, but she paid them little mind. All that was going through her head at the moment was that she needed to get down to the docks. She had a hunch that was where Heather had gone. The brunette had been hinting about this for weeks now, but she had ignored it until now.

When she reached the docks, the blonde was sadly unsurprised to find a very familiar ship anchored in the harbor. On the dock itself, she saw Heather speaking in hushed tones with an equally familiar man wearing his typical flamboyant clothing. Trader Johann. He looked well, she noticed. Windshear was also with the pair. The Razorwhip was saddled up and there were a few packs hooked on to the sides of her saddle. It was not hard for Astrid to figure out what was going on. It was exactly as she had feared. Heather was leaving Berk. That knowledge quickly sobered her up better than any hangover cure known on Berk.

At the sound of Astrid's pounding footsteps against the wooden boards of the dock, Heather glanced up from her conversation with Trader Johann and fixed her with a pair of determined green eyes. "I should've known you'd notice my absence," she said softly as Astrid stumbled to a halt.

"Damn right I would," Astrid growled back. "You were just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"No—yes—maybe…" Heather muttered guiltily. "Can you blame me? I thought it would be easier this way."

After looking back and forth between the two squabbling women, Trader Johann quickly made his babbling excuses and high-tailed it back to his boat. Astrid shook her head as she watched him go and then turned back to her friend, "I don't get it! I thought you were tired of being alone. You have security, you have support, you have friends. I'm here. My mother's here—you actually _like_ my mother," she let out a harsh laugh that sounded fake and bitter even to her own ears. "We're a team, Heather. Battle sisters. You're just going to throw all of that away?"

"I—I—someone has to keep going after Dagur. He's not going to stop. Innocent lives are being lost and no one has been doing a thing about that since we've been sitting here, twiddling our thumbs on this island for the past six months! It was a nice dream while it lasted," Heather remarked wistfully. "But I'm growing restless. Spending two years on the run gave me a thirst for adventure. I'm not like you, Astrid. I don't think I can remain tied down to one place forever. I want the open sky—the freedom to do whatever I please."

"You have that here," Astrid protested. "On Berk. With your friends."

"No, I don't. You know I don't."

Her gaze hardened as a thought suddenly came to her. "Well, I'm not letting you go alone. We're in this together. We always have been, ever since Stormfly and I pulled you out of the ocean on your burning island. Just let me run back home and grab some of my things."

"What about Hiccup?" Heather asked. The question immediately stopped Astrid from bringing a hand to her lips to signal her beloved Deadly Nadder. What about Hiccup indeed. Could she leave him again, a second time? Heather laughed quietly, sensing Astrid's indecision. "That's what I thought. Our time traveling together has come to its end. I can't stay on Berk any longer and you can't leave. You have a new adventure ahead of you. You're going to be the chief's wife!"

It was not hard to guess what Heather was hinting at. It was not official just yet, but there had been whispers around the village of a marriage contract between the two battle heroes in the coming months. She and Hiccup had had to be extra careful recently because of that. However, Stoick did not seem to be doing anything to dispel the rumors so they could only hope that maybe that was because there was some stock to the rumors. The battle at Dragon Island had restored the Hofferson clan's honor and the village did not know of her banishment; she _could_ have a future. All she needed was the chief's blessing.

It also helped greatly that her dowry was not lost as she had once thought. Her mother had kept it safe all these years, even while she was away. They had only talked about it once, very briefly a few months ago when Astrid accidentally stumbled upon an iron chest full of tiny baby clothes, fabrics, and other domestic goods that typically belonged in a dowry. That was one of the reasons she was trying so hard to move past her issues with her mother, aside from the fact that her mother really was trying to make amends. The Hofferson matriarch had very obviously struggled while Astrid was gone. She could have sold off part, if not all, of Astrid's dowry to make things easier, but she did not. Her mother had no idea how much she appreciated that. It meant more to her than well…just about anything.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Astrid warned, for her own sake more than Heather's. It would not be good to get her hopes up, only to have them crushed.

Her brunette companion smirked. "You may be terrible at lip-reading, but I'm not."

"What are you talking about?"

"That conversation that Hiccup and Stoick were having earlier this evening? Oh, don't look so surprised, I noticed it too! Your man's got lots of guts, I'll give him that," Heather teased as she swung gracefully up onto Windshear's saddle. "Hiccup told his Dad that he will become chief before _vintr_ hits, but only if Stoick agrees to announce your engagement that same day."

Astrid's jaw flapped open.

 _He said what?!_

Taking advantage of Astrid's shock, Heather clicked her tongue and Windshear suddenly rose into the sky, her metallic wings flapping vigorously as she hovered several feet above in the air. The brunette leaned over the saddle and peered down at her close friend. "Make sure to send mail with Sneaky every once and a while. I'll miss having him around, but he's always favored you!"

"You'll always be welcome here on Berk," Astrid replied, choking back her emotions as she subconsciously pulled Hiccup's cloak tighter around her thin form. A constant in her life for the past two years, the one person who had been there during her exile, was leaving her. Even for the past six months, Heather had stayed with her. She had stayed with the riders and had become an integral part of their team. It was not easy to say goodbye to all of that.

"Thank you, Astrid."

The wooden slabs on the dock began to creak under additional weight and Astrid turned to find Hiccup slowly approaching her with Toothless carefully assisting him. She frowned. His prosthetic must have been bothering him again. The look on his face was not one of hurt for his injury, though. He was staring up at Heather and Windshear with firm resolve. One look at his face told her that he did not approve of them leaving, but he was not going to do anything to stop them either. Part of her wished that he would at least try to talk Heather out of it—he was so much better at convincing people than she ever would be—but he did not. Instead, he hobbled to her side and wrapped his arm comfortingly around her waist while never taking his eyes off of the dragon and Viking pair in the dark sky.

"You better invite me to the wedding!" Heather called out joyfully, before she and Windshear abruptly shot off into the clouds, disappearing from view. Out on the harbor, Trader Johann's boat slowly began to follow the trail of glinting metallic scales soaring through the clouds.

"Hey, I know you guys were extremely close. I'm really sorry you're losing your friend," Hiccup muttered, his fingers tightening against her waist just so.

She appreciated the words more than he likely realized. Astrid looked up at him and smiled softly, "At least I still have you." **[4]**

He grinned at that and leaned down to nuzzle her temple with his nose.

Her friend's last comment reverberated in her brain. _You better invite me to the wedding!_ It had to be true. Heather would never lie about that. Plus, it would explain the flower crown…and the cloak. Both must have been a statement of Hiccup's intentions. He was stubbornly forging his own path, with or without his father's blessing. That was a very bold move on his part. Luckily, it seemed as though his father had no intention of stopping him this time around. He had made the mistake of not listening before and would not do so again. She wondered if Hiccup was going to tell her about the conversation that he had had with his father or if he was going to keep it a secret for the time being.

"That man needs a dragon," Hiccup mused as he gestured to Trader Johann's straggling ship. It was not what she expected him to say. But of course, he would be thinking about _dragons_. How silly of her to assume otherwise. A round of half-drunken giggles spewed from her mouth as she pictured what he was suggesting. Trader Johann riding a dragon? Impossible! The man was too skittish for his own good.

"I'd love to see that!" she chortled.

"Well, we've got no shortage of them now," Hiccup reasoned. "I'm sure we could find just the right one for him!"

"It's not going to happen," Astrid told him decidedly.

Hiccup shrugged and changed the subject, "Let's get you back to the festival, milady. I believe I have several years of poor behavior at these feasts to make up for."

She frowned at that. "Don't be silly, Hiccup. You don't owe me anything."

"Well then, let's get back before my Dad, my uncle, and Gobber make too big of fools of themselves. I may need your help corralling them. Or better yet, I may need your help corralling Tuffnut. His Yak-Bombs were apparently a hit. I say we confiscate them."

"Now that, I can agree to."

Their eyes met and soon, they were both laughing. The combined sound momentarily drowned out the music and rowdy cheers of celebrating Vikings in the town square. When their mirth eventually settled down, Hiccup gestured wordlessly in the direction of the feast with a nod of his head and they began the short walk back to the village with Toothless happily trailing along behind them. Yes, Heather was gone, but she pushed that empty feeling aside for the time being. What she had told Hiccup was true. At least she still had him.

Her tribe, her home, was settled in the middle of the Meridian of Misery on an island called Berk where it snowed nine months out of the year and hailed the other three. The food that grew on the island could be tasteless, and some of the people living on the island were even more so. The Hairy Hooligans had called this their home for seven generations, but you would never know it. Nearly every single building in the village was new. It was not that the Vikings actually enjoyed rebuilding their structures so often. No, it was because of the _drekar_.The overgrown pets were everywhere now and it was not out of the ordinary for there to be the occasional accidental house fire. They would be putting in newly designed fire preventative systems in the coming months.

For as long as Astrid could remember—Hel, as long as anyone on the island could remember—Berk had been plagued by dragon raids. The village thought that the only way to survive was to fight back. She had been so obsessed with winning back the Hofferson clan's honor back then that she had been blind to the idea that peace was possible; but over the course of two years, things had changed. It began when Hiccup shot Toothless down and she had seen a flicker of true emotion in the Night Fury's citrine orbs—fear. Then she had found Stormfly and things spiraled well out of her control from there. There had been quite a few bumps and bruises along the way but in the end, Berk had come to see that dragons were not the monstrous creatures that they once thought they were. Her tribe now lived in peace and she had been part an instrumental part of making that happened.

And so everyone had a role, a place.

Everyone, even Astrid.

 _ **FIN**_

—

 **[1]** _**She was almost ashamed to think of how many times her much younger self had dreamed of Hiccup presenting her with a flower crown to wear at the**_ **sumar** _ **feast.**_

 **I actually don't know how many people will actually remember this detail, but way back in chapter seven, Ruffnut tells Astrid the story of how Fishlegs made her a flower crown to wear at a** _ **sumar**_ **feast, but she accidentally rejected him. There were also hints to the feast prior to that, mainly with mentions of Hiccup weaving little blue wildflowers in Astrid's hair. So, in case you have forgotten and don't want to go back and reread the chapter details on what the** _ **sumar**_ **feast is, here is a recap:** **The first day of the** _ **sumar**_ **months was also called "Girl Day" as the entire month of** _ **Harpa**_ **was dedicated to girls. My depiction is probably not historically accurate but** _ **I personally**_ **imagine Berk's celebration of the first day of** _ **sumar**_ **to be somewhat like traditional European May Day celebrations. Fishlegs presenting Ruffnut with a woven crown of flowers is a nod towards the later English tradition of the crowning of a May Queen.**

 **[2]** _ **This, my dear friends, is called a Yak-Bomb!**_

 **This whole scene with the Yak-Bomb is dedicated to** _ **Grandtheftfandom**_ **.** **We spent several chapters chatting back and forth about the revolutionary term yak-bomb and how it could be used in the story somewhere other than an expression in replacement of "bombshell". Well, here you go: The Yak-Bomb, an alcoholic concoction made up by Tuffnut for the** _ **sumar**_ **feast.**

 **[3]** _ **Beans, Snotlout. They're called beans!**_

 **The excerpt is taken from the Race to the Edge season three, episode seven:** _ **To Heather or Not to Heather**_ **. I don't know why I found that portion of that episode so funny, but I did, and I simply had to use it in the epilogue.**

 **[4]** _ **At least I still have you.**_

 **This excerpt is taking from Race to the Edge season one, episode eleven:** _ **Have Dragon Will Travel, Part 2**_ **. I think most of you probably know this, but I'll note it anyway.**

—

 **Wow. This epilogue really got away from me. It's almost as long as a normal chapter.**

 **Did I not warn you though that there would be cheese in the epilogue? Buckets upon buckets of unabashed, glorious hiccstrid cheese? I think I may have delivered. I don't know. Excuse me for a brief moment while I go pass out from my cheesy coma.**

 **I hinted at a possible engagement and wedding—according to Heather, Hiccup had the audacity to barter his agreement to become chieftain in exchange for a promise of marriage to Astrid—obviously, I took a few creative liberties in that. In a traditional Viking setting, this** _ **would not**_ **have happened. Stoick nulled the betrothal contract when he banished Astrid from Berk and there is no telling if they could have legally resolved that, even after the battle of Dragon Island. However, if DreamWorks can make exceptions of historical inaccuracies for the sake of our beloved characters' happiness, I can too.**

 **As some of you may have guessed, I have purposely decided to leave a few things in this story open ended. Perhaps the most notable thing is the unresolved mending of Astrid and Herleva's relationship and in a way, Hiccup and Astrid's relationship. Although I do not have any current plans for a sequel, I could be hit with sudden inspiration one day (perhaps with the conclusion of RTTE or more likely, when HTTYD3 comes out) and I want to have plenty material to work with to tie the two stories together should that happen. Also, there is the possibility of a short one-shot series, in which I could explore some of these unresolved things. Either way, I am ending this with the idea that I could one day come back and expand the** _ **Drengskapr**_ **universe should I choose to.**

 **Those of you who review for this last chapter I have a few requests:**

 _ **1) What did you like most about this story? This can be anything. A favorite scene, writing technique, plot devices, characterization, etc.**_

 _ **2) Any last minute constructive criticism that you can give me for the story or my writing in general. I plan to go back in and tweak a few things, fix grammatical errors, get rid of my weird italic word obsession from the first ten chapters…. so anything you all can give me will be helpful.**_

 _ **3) What would you like to see from an expanded**_ **Drengskapr** _ **universe? This can include anything from pre-Drengskapr, post-epilogue, and even "deleted scenes" for chapters in between.**_

 **Lastly, I thank those of you who have stuck with this story over the year it has been in the works and also say thank you in advance to those who will read this story after its completion. The kind words and advice you all have given me means more than I can say. Writing** _ **Drengskapr**_ **has been a true learning experience for me and although I may not be writing more in this particular AU universe for a little while, I do have ideas for other stories. Thus, I look forward to seeing you all on the next great fanfiction adventure!**

 **Sorry, I couldn't resist throwing one last Harry Potter reference in my last author's note.**

 **I'm terrible. I know.**

— **Lumen del Mari.**


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